


The Eagle Transfixed by a Serpent

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst and Porn, Blackmail, Classism, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Forced Crossdressing, Gaslighting, Guilt, Kink Shaming, M/M, Onmyoudou, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:02:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24010270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A Slytherin finds a very suspect magazine in the bag of his Ravenclaw tutor and decides to hold it for ransom. Kaz quickly agrees to the Slytherin's demands, hoping to get himself out of this mess asap.But for Vincent Danvers, the fun is just getting started.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

Kazuma Kent almost wasn’t admitted to Hogwarts.

All things considered, that fact shouldn’t have been terribly important. It’s not as though he were too dangerous or incompetent to be admitted, he knew – it was purely circumstantial. His mother, an agent at the Ministry of Magic Department of International Cooperation, brought Kazuma to England with her late in the summer, and it was _she_ who wrote to Professor McGonagall – not the other way around. What’s more, Kazuma was already 12, and Hogwarts was not in the habit of allowing students to matriculate after year one. Enrolling at Hogwarts as a second-year student had meant obscene amounts of hard work – for both Kazuma and the professors.

Still, Kazuma, more often shortened to just “Kaz,” was admitted because he _did have_ magical talent. End of story. By the third week of his second term, Kaz was caught up with the rest of his classmates. Better still, after the end-of-year exams, Professor Flitwick said that Kazuma Kent was, “a credit to the house of Ravenclaw.” Considering that Kaz considered charms to be one of his worse subjects, such praise coming from his head of house ought to have assured him that I belonged. And in a way, it did.

During year three (Kazuma’s second year), Kaz started to feel more at home, and he developed a few close friendships with his classmates. Since his schedule was no longer packed with extra tutoring sessions, a few of the other Ravenclaws in his year came to him for help in astronomy. Having studied Onmyoudo with his father back in Japan, Kazuma was ahead of his class in astronomy and divination. He started to think that perhaps he belonged after all.

Year four was undoubtedly the best. That was the year that Harry Potter arrived at Hogwarts, and Kazuma’s name fell out of the rumor mill with an almost audible clunk. Other than the fact that he did his homework with a brush instead of a quill, Kaz felt just like an ordinary student. Year five, amid all the panic when the Chamber of Secrets was opened, he flew completely under the radar. Even amid the fear of attack, couldn’t help but enjoy his relative anonymity.

But in year six, Kazuma’s fifth year at Hogwarts, some of the old doubts began to resurface. 

\----------------------------------------------------------

The last 15 minutes of Professor McGonagall’s class – double transfiguration with Slytherin and Ravenclaw – were left for practical application. So far, Kazuma Kent had spent six entire minutes staring at the toad he was supposed to be turning into a lamp. He hadn’t so much as muttered the incantation, and his wand lay resting across his knees. Such behavior might have attracted outrage coming from any other student, but after five years, even McGonagall had to admit that Kent’s technique was more than mere daydreaming. Only excellent students were allowed into her NEWT classes, and Kazuma had earned an O in his transfiguration OWL.

The toad was looking back at Kazuma with something like boredom in its glassy, bauxite eyes. In the entire classroom, it was the only creature to match his stillness. Elsewhere in the classroom, toads were croaking in protest at the prods of wand-tips. One attempted to jump into a Ravenclaw girl’s sleeve, and in her panic the girl sent it flying across the room to knock a delicate, porcelain bowl of cough drops off McGonagall’s desk.

“For heaven’s sake, Rivers, it’s only a toad! Get a grip!” the professor exclaimed, giving her wand a rapid twist that sent the toad back to Rivers’ desk and repaired the broken China in one motion.

Amid the general laughter, one Slytherin boy muttered, “It was probably looking for somewhere to hide where that Longbottom can’t snog it.” His friends all snickered appreciatively at this until McGonagall came over to have a look at their progress up close.

“A little more concentration from this table would be appreciated,” she said tartly after the best any of them had done was turn the toad’s legs into copper so that it couldn’t hop off the table.

After a few more minutes, two Ravenclaws had succeeded in turning their toads glassy and bell-shaped, and one boy had accidentally turned his frog into a perfect glass replica of itself. Progress was similar among the Slytherins. Bryan Conley had managed to create a rather convincing lamp, but the oil in the bottom kept bubbling with feeble croaks, and the wicking sprang upward and snatched his wand out of his hand by the tip when he attempted to light it. For all that, McGonagall was still pleased enough to award him 5 points.

While a few students were whispering to Conley and asking for tips, Kazuma finally lifted his wand, waved it in an upward arc, and mouthed the incantation voicelessly. For an instant, the toad’s eyes seemed to widen as if in surprise, except that they didn’t stop widening. They grew bigger and bigger, and its mouth gaped open as though trying to swallow itself. Hardly more than a second later, the eyes and lips slid one upon the other and fused, the eyes became tall and transparent, and the limbs and belly turned into a delicately wrought brass base. One of its forelegs had stretched out during the transformation and taken on the shape of a key-handle for raising and lowering the wick.

Nobody noticed the perfect oil lamp on Kazuma’s desk until he stood up and lit the wick with the tip of his wand. A guttering, smoking spark appeared at the end, which emerged into warm flame as he turned the key upward.

“Well done, Mr. Kent!” McGonagall declared approvingly. “I daresay the yellow tint you’ve given the glass should make for a very sunny atmosphere. Twenty points to Ravenclaw.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Kazuma replied with a nod and warm smile to match the yellow light in his oil lamp. His eyes scanned over his creation as though looking for some fault in the design, but none presented itself. Meanwhile, other students were already starting to pack their bags in anticipation of the bell.

“Decided to actually use your wand this time, eh Kaz?” Kazuma rolled his eyes. Leonard Winstead, another Ravenclaw sixth year, was Kazuma’s desk mate in transfiguration that year although they weren’t especially close.

“I’ve gave up trying first-time spells wandlessly back in our fourth year. Didn’t you realize?”

Leonard snorted, sliding his spellbook and ink back into his bag and pulling the drawstring. “No. I just see you in the common room throwing gang signs at pincushions until they turn into eggs.” As he said this, he put his hands together in a crude imitation of the Toh mudra.

Kazuma resisted the temptation to correct Leo’s hand position. By now, he’d learned to tell when his classmates were teasing him for the fun of it and it was best to just change the subject. “Speaking of eggs, I saw you skipped out on breakfast this morning. Did you make up for it at lunch?”

Leo shrugged. “I guess… Not really. I was trying to wrap up an essay for Lupin, so-”

“Oi, Kent!” Leonard broke off and they both turned at the voice behind them. One of the Slytherins from their double transfiguration class was descending the steps behind them and staring intently at Kazuma. He had chestnut brown hair and off-green eyes that looked almost turquoise. He smiled as he drew near and squeezed himself against the banister so as not to get in anybody’s way. “Hey! I’ve, uh… got a free period now, so I was wondering if I could talk to you. Would that be okay?” His eyes flicked to Leonard for a moment, as though partially asking for his consent as well.

A look passed between Kent and Winstead. Leonard shrugged. “I’ve still got history of magic left.”

Kazuma hummed. “Guess I’ll catch up with you later, then.”

“See you at dinner, Kaz.”

Kazuma looked at the Slytherin boy again. “Alright… Danvers?” He was a little fuzzy on the name, but he thought he could place the face. 

Danvers brightened at being recognized. “Vincent Danvers, yeah! We have transfiguration and charms together.”

Kazuma nodded. “Were you one of the ones who made that joke about that third year boy who keeps losing his toad?” He’d only been asking for information’s sake, but saw the way Vincent winced at the question.

“Uh… Well it wasn’t me who made the joke, but… I heard that one, yeah. Sorry if it-”

“It’s fine,” Kazuma said quickly, waving a hand. “I was pretty focused on my own work, so… I just happened to notice is all.”

“Ah, right. Good.” Danvers looked visibly relieved for a moment. Then he leaned a little closer as the din on the staircase grew louder. “Hey… I don’t know if you noticed, but I haven’t been doing so well in transfiguration this year.”

“Oh… really?” Kazuma made a show of being nonplussed. Actually, he was perfectly aware of Danvers’ marks. A striking face like his wasn’t easy to ignore.

“Yeah.” Vincent gave a sheepish smile. “These multi-piece transfigurations, you know? They’re tricky. And McGonagall isn’t…” The handsome Slytherin hastily drew up short at the sight of Kazuma’s knitted brows. “I mean, she’s a great teacher. Really knows her stuff! I just don’t always see eye-to-eye with her, that’s all.”

“Right…” Kazuma looked around at the thickening crowd moving around him. He was starting to feel a little anxious about the continuous traffic and wished that Danvers would just get to the point.

“So… listen…” Danvers leaned in close enough to almost-whisper, and Kazuma had to appreciate just how tall the Slytherin was at this proximity. “You’ve got a real knack for this class… If you’re not doing anything this period, maybe you could help me out? I could really use a transfiguration tutor.”

Kazuma met Danvers’ turquoise eyes for a moment, then looked again over the milling crowd. His desire to start moving again was veering toward irritability. “I mean… I’m free today, but usually after class I…”

“Oh, I’m flexible!” Danvers assured brightly. “Whenever you’re free, I’m sure I can make time.”

Kazuma tried even harder not to meet the Slytherin boy’s eyes now. Though he wouldn’t say it outright, deep down he didn’t relish the thought of giving up hours of his weekly free time tutoring anyone else – not when he had enough of his own classes to worry about. “I mean… I’ve got some free time _today,_ but I don’t know if…”

“I can pay you!” Danvers offered eagerly. That got Kaz’s attention. “I’ll give you a galleon for today’s lesson. If you’re still willing to tutor me after that, I’ll pay 12 sickles a week. Sound fair?”

Kazuma could feel the cogs in his mind whirring. ‘Fair?’ It was generous! Compared to the 18 sickles he got from his mother once a month, it was practically a fortune. It almost seemed too good to be true. “The thing is, Danvers, I’ve never tutored anybody before. I’d feel bad accepting money from you if my lessons turn out not to help.”

Danvers shrugged this off easily. “Don’t worry about it, Kent! I’m willing to take the risk. And hell – if even the best student in our year can’t help me, then I’m probably just a hopeless case anyway.”

Kaz suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach. This was, he knew, an exaggeration. He could think of at least 4 students better than him in their year, and he’d only scraped an Exceeds Expectations in his charms OWL by the barest of margins. Still, for a closeted, gay wizard like Kazuma Kent, such undeserved praise from a handsome boy like Danvers was enough to get his heart pounding and his mind racing with giddy thoughts.

_Don’t get ahead of yourself,_ he mentally reproached himself. _Vincent’s just flattering you to get you so you’ll say yes._ He couldn’t keep himself from smiling, either way. “Well, I appreciate your vote of confidence,” he said, rolling his eyes despite the burning in his ears.

“So you’ll do it?” Danvers interpreted optimistically. Kazuma made the mistake of looking into his eyes again, and the Slytherin boy’s eager smile made something melt inside of him.

“I guess there’s no harm in trying.”

“Brilliant!” Danvers looked ready to throw an arm around Kent, but he held back. “The library, then?”

Kazuma nodded, still admonishing himself not to get too carried away. “Yeah. The library.”

“Perfect! Thanks, Kazuma, you’re a life-saver!”

Kaz caught the switch to his first name – cringing just slightly when Danvers made the frequent mistake of overstressing the second syllable. “Just ‘Kaz’ is fine.”

“Kaz… I like it!” Danvers walked close by Kent’s shoulder as they proceeded down the stairs.

“Thanks… Vincent,” Kazuma hedged.

Danvers smiled. “Vince.”

_He_ is _friendly, isn’t he?_ “Vince. Hope I’ll be able to help.”

In the midst of his hot excitement, Kaz suddenly shivered at the bottom of the landing before the library and thought that he must have walked through a ghost by accident. He didn’t see the eyes with which Vincent Danvers was watching the nape of his neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: The chapter has now been proofread. Hope It's more enjoyable now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Kaz searches the stacks for a book to help in tutoring Vincent Danvers, Vince does a little digging of his own. 
> 
> Now, both their true colors are about to be exposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: The chapter has been proofread. Enjoy!

After just 10 minutes in the library, it was clear to Kazuma that Vincent’s enthusiasm had been something of a front. He was jocular and unfocused, and he spent long minutes asking Kaz questions that had nothing to do with transfiguration.

“So you’re not Japanese, and your surname is English, so why is your first name Japanese?” “Can you show me how you transfigure things without a wand?” “How do you know which hand-sign to use for a spell?” “Why don’t… uh… ‘oh-neo-do’ wizards use wands for spell-casting?” “So why did you come back to the UK?” “What do you miss most about Japan?”

At first, Kazuma was fine with the questions, since it offered him a chance to build a rapport with Vincent. But gradually, he started to withdraw from the Slytherin boy’s inquisitiveness. A thought, which he stifled almost as soon as it occurred, suggested that Vincent might be trying to dig up fodder for the rumor mill. Either way, if he really wanted 12 sickles a week, he couldn’t afford to brush these questions off too rudely. On the other hand, if Vincent made no progress after Kazuma’s help, there surely wouldn’t be a repeat lesson.

“Show me how you do it,” Vincent requested once after Kaz had managed to keep his attention on the lesson for nearly two whole minutes.

Kazuma accepted the challenge with something like relief. At last, here was a _relevant_ question. He pulled his own ink brush in front of him and locked his fingers together in the Pyou mudra. After a silent moment, he spread his hands out into Zai, and the brush turned into a little green gecko with a black muzzle.

“That’s so stupid!” Vincent hissed viciously. Kazuma looked up, startled, but his pupil’s lips were curled in an admiring grin. “You did that without a wand _or_ an incantation! I’ve never seen anyone but my family’s house elf do complicated magic wandless like that.”

Kazuma felt his stomach growing warm at the compliment, but he did his best to keep his expression humble. “You must have done wandless magic at some point. What about when you were a kid? Isn’t that how your parents learned you were magical?”

Vincent shrugged easily. “Well yeah, all kids do before they learn proper magic. But it all sort of… goes away once you learn to cast spells for real. My dad says it’s because your magic starts out wild and has to be tamed.”

Kazuma shook his head. “Wands help with channeling magic, but that magic _always_ belongs to the wizard. Onmyouji also have wand lore, but they only use them on occasion. Otherwise, their innate… ‘spell-casting muscles,’ you might call them… would atrophy.”

Vincent listened closely to this explanation, but his brows knit together near the end. “So, are you saying I couldn’t do it your way now even if I tried?”

Kaz gave an apologetic smile. “No, but… it would be harder for you. _Much_ harder. You would have to start by practicing year-one spells and work… probably for months before you can do sixth-year magic the way I can.”

“And what about the hand signs?” Vincent did a passable imitation of the Zai mudra. “What have those got to do with it?”

Kazuma breathed slowly and glanced at his watch. They’d been at it for over half an hour now, and Vincent was still no closer to transforming his own wooden pencil. “I’ll tell you what,” he said at last, and then he turned his gecko back into an ink brush with a lazy flick of his wand. “I’m going to go find a book that might help your transfiguration. You stay here and practice. Once your pencil can climb up the wall on its own, I’ll answer more questions about Japanese magic.”

The Slytherin boy pouted for a fraction of a second, then turned the expression into an apologetic smile. “Okay, okay… Sorry to bother you with all the questions. I’m just curious.”

Kaz gave what he hoped was a breezy, friendly smile. “It’s alright. I just want to make sure I do alright as your tutor. I wouldn’t feel right accepting money from you otherwise.”

“Well I already think you’re a great tutor, Kaz.” The grin Danvers gave to accompany these words made Kazuma’s stomach lurch. He looked away, feeling the tips of his ears burn.

“Thanks… Vince…” The name felt inappropriately sensual as he pushed it through his lips. “I’ll be… uh… right back.” By contrast, those words felt lame and clumsy. He made a quick exit before he could really make a fool of himself.

Kazuma found the book he was looking for after only 2 minutes, but he waited another 4 to make absolutely sure his head was cool before coming back. He reminded himself that it was no good entertaining fantasies about Vincent, and he had better keep his mind on tutoring. _We both need to focus on the lesson. We both need to focus on the lesson._

Although he’d known it was optimistic to suppose the distractible Slytherin would still be studying by the time he got back, Kazuma couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Vincent was leaning back in his chair and reading a magazine with naked amusement. Kazuma looked around the table in case there was a skinny gecko scurrying around, but the pencil was just as legless as when he’d left.

“Still no luck with the spell, I… see…” His tongue seemed to go as dry as parchment before he’d finished the sentence. While he was looking at the un-transfigured pencil on the table, he’d noticed a few other things lying out that shouldn’t have been. A carefully tied stack of ofuda, a few rolls of parchment, and a pamphlet from the Department of International Magic Cooperation were laying on the table in front of his open and partially-emptied school bag. His eyes shot back to the magazine in Vincent’s hands, and cold dread swelled in his stomach.

The Slytherin boy glanced up at him, and his teeth were bared in a grin of wicked delight. “Some pretty _interesting_ tastes you’ve got, Kent.”

Kazuma stood absolutely still for a long few seconds, eyes fixed on Danvers’. “That… It’s not mine,” he said through parched lips, barely loud enough to be heard.

Danvers cocked a brow with theatrical skepticism. “Oh really? I didn’t think Hogwarts carried comic books.” Kazuma didn’t answer. “And even if it did, I wouldn’t expect it to carry _muggle_ comics like this.” Still, Kazuma didn’t answer. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, something other than words would spill out. “So where _is_ the centaur porn aisle, anyway? Is it in the restricted section? Maybe I ought to ask Madame Pince.”

“No!” Kazuma’s voice came out as a shrill whisper. It felt like the whole library was tilting under his feet. His ears felt clogged with buzzing, and at the same time strained to look out for eavesdroppers.

Now Danvers’ teeth glinted with sadistic delight. With his school robe thrown open and his legs spread confidently apart, Kaz could make out the way the Slytherin’s shirt clung to his lean body. Vince set the comic down on the table, and Kazuma saw the familiar image of a human down on his knees, holding onto a penis that was unquestionably equine in both size and character. The human looked drunk with lustful bliss, and he was licking the centaur’s shaft with something like worship in his glassy eyes. Kazuma’s stomach hadn’t churned like this since the first time he laid eyes on that page.

“I’m not gonna lie, Kaz,” Vincent said coolly, “this is pretty disgusting.” He didn’t sound terribly disgusted. “You know you _really_ shouldn’t be reading this kind of thing in school. What would Professor Flitwick say?”

Kaz cringed at the falsely-sanctimonious tone in Danvers’ voice. “Please…” But he had no idea how to follow up ‘please.’ His mind was racing to find some way out of this fix. He could use a disarming charm, but that was sure to draw attention, and it wouldn’t keep Vincent from telling the librarian what he’d seen. He could probably burn the comic to cinders before the Slytherin boy could stop him, but attacking a fellow student and deliberately starting a fire in the middle of the library could get him in just as much trouble as possessing pornography on Hogwarts grounds. What’s more, there were probably spells for restoring paper that had been burned, in which case he’d be charged with breaking three serious school rules at once. He’d almost certainly be expelled.

By the look in the Slytherin’s eyes, Kazuma could tell that Danvers’ was enjoying his internal struggle. In a low, meaningful murmur, Vincent said, “Don’t try anything foolish, now. If I uncover something like this in your bag, nobody’s going to care how I found it.”

Kazuma felt like he might vomit or start crying at any second. In a sore, croaky voice, he whispered, “What do you want from me?”

Danvers’ turquoise eyes glittered. “Want? What makes you think I _want_ anything? Can’t I just be doing my duty as an upstanding Hogwarts student by turning in a rule breaker?”

“No!” Kazuma said as loud as he dared. He took a quick step toward Danvers, but stopped when the boy suddenly pointed his wand Kazuma’s chest.

“Take a seat, Kaz,” Danvers said levelly. “You and I need to have a little chat.”

Shakily, Kazuma slid into the chair across from Vincent, glancing between the wand tip hovering threateningly before him and the lovely eyes of the boy who – not even an hour ago – had been asking for his help with such earnestness. “Please,” he whimpered. “That… it… It’s got nothing to do with you,” he pleaded in the politest whisper he could manage.

Danvers’ eyes widened, but he looked about to laugh. “Nothing to do with me? Of course it has! When I see a fellow pureblood showing an unhealthy fascination in bestial half-breeds, it’s practically my _duty_ to set you back on the straight and narrow.” Kazuma’s lips moved, but no words came forth. It felt like he’d been stupefied.

His mother and many others had warned him about the Slytherin reputation for blood-status snobbery. Still, he always tried to give members of Slytherin House the benefit of the doubt until they proved themselves to be real death-eaters in the making. Now this…

“It’s just… just a comic… a fantasy,” the Ravenclaw justified, trying to wet his lips with his dry tongue. “It doesn’t… I don’t…”

“Don’t really want a centaur to grind his big horsey cock all over your pretty face?” Vincent offered in a mocking lilt. Kazuma’s face went from white to scarlet faster than if he’d drunk a Pepper-Up potion. The Slytherin shook his head in dismay. “Oh, Kaz… You should have been sorted into my house. If only we’d shared the same dormitory, you’d have had a proper wizard like me to look up to. I could have saved you from these blood-treason tendencies. Bad enough that you’re a faggot without being into bestiality as well.”

“It is _not_ bestiality!” Kazuma snapped in a heated whisper before he could reign himself under control. Then he withered under the look Danvers gave him. The word ‘faggot,’ which had been ringing in his ears since the moment Danvers said it, seemed to reach out and grab him by the hair.

“You’re even worse than I thought,” Vincent said coldly. Not lowering his wand, he flipped the comic to an earlier page and turned it around for Kazuma to see. “Right here… even the muggle protagonist of your little… half-breed fantasy…” He gave a sneer that was only half affected. “He calls them ‘filthy savages,’ and he only rescinds after he’s been raped into insanity. A pure-blood like you should have at least as much sense.”

Kazuma kept his eyes on the comic, outwardly imitating an air of contrition. In reality, he was trying to hide his fury. At that moment, his ‘pure blood’ felt ready to boil out his eyes and ears. “Fine. I’ll get rid of it,” he muttered. “Hand it back and I’ll burn it, then scatter the ashes into the Great Lake.” Just then, the loss of his favorite wank material seemed a pittance if it meant an end to this nightmare.

To his horror, Danvers gave a low little chuckle. “Oh no, it’s a little too late for that, Kaz. You’ve already shown your hand. Somebody needs to cure you of your sick fantasies.”

Kazuma looked up at Vincent. In his turquoise eyes, something like the excitement he’d displayed on the grand staircase was burning. This time, however, it was a ravenous, predatory hunger, and there was nothing endearing about it. Kazuma felt chilled to the very tips of his fingers. “No… It doesn’t matter… Look, can’t I just…”

Danvers was already shaking his head. “I’m afraid I can’t let you off the hook that easily. Besides…” He tugged at the lapel of his robe, and Kazuma noticed – as though for the first time – the shiny Slytherin prefect badge pinned to the lapel. “I’ve caught you breaking school rules, so I have to punish you. There’s no negotiating that. But since I’m so generous, give you a choice…” He gave his toothiest grin yet and leaned forward, as if they were exchanging gossipy during a dinner date. “Shall I deal with you as a pure blood… or as a prefect? What’ll it be, Kaz?”

The choice was detestable, but it didn’t take much consideration. If Vincent turned him in, detention would only be the start of his troubles. He had no doubt Danvers would spread the information about his tastes in pornography to the rest of the castle before sundown. By morning, he’d be receiving his pumpkin juice with a howler from the Ministry of Magic, courtesy of mother.

“What do you want from me?” Kazuma asked in resignation.

Danvers nodded approvingly. “For a start… Get under the table. Hands and knees.” Kazuma felt a sudden lurch in his belly at the command. It must have shown on his face, because Vincent fixed him with a daring grin and brandished the comic at him. “You heard me. On your knees, or I’ll see if Madame Pince can file this alongside your suspension notice.”

Despite the shame and terror coursing through him, Kazama suddenly felt very willing to obey – if only to be under cover in case the tears broke through. As he crawled under the table, he was treated to the sight of a dozen hastily-hidden Droobles Best Blow Gum remnants, along with Vincent’s open thighs. He heard a protracted rustling above the table. 

Presently, Danvers leaned back in his chair far enough to look his captive in the eyes. “You see this?” He gave his crotch a slight shake. “Touch it.” Kazuma hesitated, glancing fearfully from side to side. “I’ll keep a lookout. You just do what you’re told before I get bored.”

As though to reassure him, Vincent hitched up a leg and rested his heel against the chair Kazuma had just vacated. With the fold of his Slytherin robe pulled up over his knee, this afforded some protection from potential onlookers. Kazuma knew that this was the best he was likely to get, and he reached up to palm Vincent’s cock before he lost his nerve.

It was clear immediately that Danvers was hard as a rock. Kazuma could feel its heat through the fabric of his classmate’s trousers. The heat and humidity against his fingers made the scene feel intolerably real, and yet the whole situation was like some bad dream. It occurred to him in some idle corner of his mind that this was the first time he’d felt any man’s crotch other than his own.

“That’s right,” Danvers gloated, barely audible. “Get a good feel of that meat. I’ll bet your Japanese wizards couldn’t compete with this.” He waited just long enough for Kazuma to bridle at the insult, then ordered, “Take it out. I think you should have a good look at it, face to…”

At first, Kazuma thought the arrogant Slytherin was just leaving a significant pause for effect. But as he lifted his head slightly, Danvers’ hand came to rest firmly on the top of his head and keep him down. A second later, Kaz heard it. Behind the fold of Vincent’s robe, a pair of female voices were engaged in a whispered conversation nearby. As quiet as they were, Kaz could hear enough of their conversation to pick up that they were fifth years working on an essay for Professor Lupin. His heart beat in his throat.

Kazuma shut his eyes and moved his lips noiselessly in a sutra. He prayed in his head. _Don’t look this way. Don’t look this way. None of the books you need are anywhere near here. The book you need is at least six aisles over. Go look for it somewhere else. Don’t come this way._ He was distracted by sensation of something wet and slick under his thumb. Uncertainly, he moved his thumb in a small circle, then stopped as he felt Danvers’ thighs tense up suddenly. Then, he felt the boy’s cock throb against his palm, and a fresh wave of disgust hit him. They were both in imminent danger of getting caught, and the Slytherin boy was thrilled by the risk. Meanwhile he, Kazuma, felt like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

He tried to remove his hand from his classmate’s crotch, thinking he could easily pretend to have been retrieving a fallen quill, but Danvers swiftly grabbed his hand and held it in place. “I didn’t say you could stop,” Danvers said in a miniscule murmur that sounded like a bugle in Kazuma’s scarlet ears. The frightened Ravenclaw strained to make sure that the girls hadn’t overheard, but the hot organ under his hand was throbbing even harder and holding his attention captive. “Now pull it out.”

It went against every instinct in Kazuma’s blood not to argue, but the more that they spoke, the greater their risk. So as soon as Danvers’ grip loosened, he pulled at the zipper and slid a few fingers through the fly. Danvers wasn’t wearing any underwear beneath his trousers, and Kazuma felt his stomach grip sickeningly at the humid touch of bare skin under his fingertips. With difficulty, he worked the shaft out into the open. Only once it was sticking out – veiny, rigid, and bare inches from his face – did Kazuma come to appreciate just how big it was. It must have been 22 centimeters if it was an inch, and so turgid that Kaz had to hold it down to keep it out of sight behind Vincent’s robe. He half wondered if the arrogant wizard had put an engorgement charm on his member while hatching his plans for blackmail.

“Stroke it,” Danvers growled, and Kazuma cringed at the voice. The fifth years were no longer speaking, but he could still hear them shuffling books around from uncomfortably close by. Grimacing, Kaz began stroking the Slytherin’s cock with slow, steady motions, keeping it aimed downward and out of sight – though this unfortunately meant it was pointed right at his face. At least it was clean, and Danvers’ trousers still bore the cottony scent of being freshly laundered.

In the midst of his unwilling ministrations, the irony of the predicament was not lost on Kazuma. Mere minutes ago – in this very room – he had been half-heartedly staving off unrealistic fantasies about Vincent Danvers. He had imagined himself looking at his Slytherin classmate’s weighty prick, about holding it in his hand… and yes, he’d even imagined himself – Kazuma Kent – willingly getting on his knees to service his handsome classmate. He’d thought it daring to hope that his first time could be with Danvers.

He was getting what he wanted now.

But it was all wrong! He hadn’t wanted it to be like _this_! He’d thought it would be romantic, perhaps even… fun. At the very least, Kazuma thought that he would enjoy his first encounter _willingly._ Not blackmailed by a classmate who’d called him a faggot and degraded him out of pure bigotry.

Interminable minutes rolled by – or was it only seconds? – while Kazuma tried not to look at the dick in front of him. The girls still weren’t speaking, and the fluttering of books had stopped some time ago as well. “They’re gone,” Danvers murmured at length, and Kazuma thought he almost sounded disappointed.

With a content sigh, the Slytherin leaned back a little further in his chair and took a look at his victim’s face. “Hey, what’s the matter?” he said, grinning sadistically. “What are you crying for? I haven’t done anything to you yet.”

“I’m not…” Kazuma pulled up short. He hadn’t noticed the dampness on his cheeks until he opened his mouth and felt wet, salty tears roll past his lips.

Danvers’ cold eyes glittered with cruelty, and he flexed his prick in Kaz’s hand. “You can’t be unhappy, surely. I know it’s not as big as those half-breeds you fancy, but I guarantee you it’s cleaner and smells way better. It probably tastes better too…” At this last suggestion, Vincent licked his lips suggestively.

Kazuma shuddered. In a hoarse whisper, he croaked, “Please… don’t make me…”

Danvers chuckled and rubbed the Ravenclaw boy’s head in imitation of a comforting gesture. “Oh, I know you’re not ready for that yet.” A fresh dread rolled through Kazuma at those words, but Danvers continued: “Just keep stroking me. I want you to get familiar with the touch of a real, superior, pure-blood’s cock. Feel the power of it. Smell how clean and manly it is. Doesn’t it feel good?” Kazuma ignored the question, hoping it was rhetorical, but Danvers repeated the question more insistently a few seconds later.

“Yes,” Kazuma replied. It was the only correct answer.

Danvers’ dick gave a powerful flex, as though it approved of the answer. “I bet you wish you’d come to me sooner instead of smuggling that filth into the castle. Don’t you?”

“Yes,” Kazuma whispered as quietly as he could.

“‘Yes’ what, Kaz?” Danvers murmured.

“Yes, I do,” Kazuma said, grimacing. The Slytherin’s dick gave such a powerful surge that it almost slipped out of his fingers.

“You do _what_?” Danvers pressed, and he ran his fingertips through Kazuma’s soft, mahogany-dark hair. His smile showed just how much he was enjoying the power he held over his classmate.

Shuddering as he felt his dignity creak and fold under the weight of humiliation, Kazuma whispered soft, yet coherent, “I wish I’d come to you instead of reading porn.”

The glee in Danvers’ eyes looked like it could burn his clothes right off. “Because my pure-blood cock is better than any centaur.” A pro pos of nothing, Vincent’s wicked face slid smoothly forward and was hidden from Kazuma’s view by the underside of the table.

Before he could begin to wonder what Danvers was doing, Kazuma caught a motion out of the corner of his eye. He held back a scream by the barest margin as a boy he hadn’t noticed went walking by through the stacks on his unprotected side. If he stopped… if he looked to the right for just a moment, he would see Kazuma crouching under the table with another student’s erect cock in his hand. Thankfully, his eyes were glued to the piece of parchment he was holding, and he walked by without a second glance.

“I didn’t tell you to stop stroking me!” Danvers demanded in a whisper before Kazuma even had time to feel relieved. Kazuma cringed, then went back to stroking the aggressive Slytherin with renewed vigor. “Now say it.”

Kaz looked up in bewilderment as those turquoise eyes reappeared, glaring at him. He’d quite forgot what he and Danvers were ‘discussing’ in the sudden scare. “Say… What?” he stammered, then cringed.

Danvers was _not_ pleased. His eyes were blazing with a crazed, ravenous fury. He looked about ready to strike his Ravenclaw classmate in the face for his evident stupidity, and Kaz moved his hand even faster in an attempt to appease him. “My pure-blood cock is better than any centaur’s. _Say it!_ ”

The last two words came in such a sharp, carrying hiss that Kazuma whimpered his reply in a rapid-fire stream of panicked syllables. “I love your big, pure-blood cock that’s better than any centaur’s.” He didn’t immediately register the addition he’d made to Danvers’ litany. 

A moment later, Danvers’ glower morphed into a manic grin. He suddenly grabbed the hand which Kazuma was using to stroke him and held it in place. Looking up into those bright, predatory eyes, Kazuma wouldn’t have been able to pull his hand away even if he’d had the nerve. And then, Danvers shot his load right in Kazuma’s face. 

For the barest second, Kaz thought his spirit had been jostled loose of its bodily frame. It was a sensation like waking suddenly from an unexpected drowse. Every detail was scorched into his mind with ruthless clarity. By the time it was over, he felt as though he’d already relived the event a dozen times over. He recalled the way Danvers’ urethra pulsed against the heel of his hand, and the sharp contact of sperm that lanced against his lips and chin like the jet from a showerhead – and how the force of each spurt seemed to sting on contact. He remembered feeling a kind of pink heat-haze erupting all over his body, making his skin prickle from his knees up to his scalp and his vision swim before him. He remembered an undefinable, watery smell filling up his nostrils, and how the semen went from warm to cold in the time it took to trickle down over his lips. And he remembered Danvers’ vice-like grip as he worked Kazuma’s hand up and down the throbbing shaft until he’d milked it to the last drop.

Finally, shivering with satisfaction, Danvers let go of Kazuma’s hand. “Incredible,” he breathed without seeming to realize he was speaking. Then, as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, the Slytherin tucked his softening member back into his trousers on his own and did his fly up. Meanwhile, Kazuma just sat with his eyes unfocussed until Vincent’s hand came down to offer him a green, silken handkerchief. “C’mon, clean yourself up,” Danvers said. His tone had gone completely neutral, as if they barely knew each other.

He accepted the handkerchief numbly and wiped the Slytherin boy’s cum off his face with one side, then turned the kerchief over to wipe the tears off his cheeks. At last, he crawled out from under the table to find that Danvers had already packed both their bags. He accepted his own without comment and followed Danvers out of the library.

They almost ran into Madame Pince as soon as they rounded the corner, but she was busy reshelving books and didn’t spare them a second glance. Elsewhere, students were studying diligently and engaging in whispered conversations as though the world were still completely normal. Somehow, not a single person looked at them as they passed by. Kazuma couldn’t understand why nobody sneered, made lewd gestures, or threw disgusted glances in his direction. They didn’t seem to know that he had just been irrevocably disgraced. Yet Kazuma felt as though his shame were a vulture crouching upon his shoulders.

They emerged onto the landing of the great staircase and were about to part ways when Kazuma realized he was still holding Danvers’ handkerchief. “Here. This is yours,” he said and held out the green piece of silk.

Danvers’ lip curled ever so slightly, but he accepted the soiled handkerchief and stowed it into a pocket of his robe. “Thanks…” Kazuma started to turn toward the staircase, but Danvers caught his shoulder and held him back. “Hang on, Kaz. I’ve still got something of yours, remember?”

Kazuma blinked for a moment, non-plussed. Then he felt a jolt of realization in his stomach. _The comic!_ “Oh… Right.” He turned back as Danvers started to rummage through his bag, resolving to burn the comic and scatter its ashes at the first opportunity. After tonight, he never wanted to set eyes on the thing again.

But when he held out his hand to accept the comic, Danvers instead lifted Kazuma’s hand so that his palm lay upright and dropped a shiny gold galleon into his hand. Kazuma looked at it, completely bewildered. “What’s…”

After checking to make sure they were alone, Danvers pulled him closer with a lascivious grin and spoke softly into his ear. “Today’s lesson was _quite_ satisfying. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. After dinner. Same place.”

Kazuma’s lips moved in silence for a second longer. Their earlier deal had all but escaped his mind. “Oh…” He couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Danvers winked at him, then turned to make his way down the grand staircase.

Then, Kazuma _did_ think of something else to say. “Wait!” he called. “What about my…” he dropped his voice to a near-whisper, “my _comic._ ”

Danvers threw him an incredulous grin. “Your comic? Confiscated. I thought that went without saying.” At Kazuma’s stunned expression, he scoffed delightedly. “C’mon, you’re a Ravenclaw. Use your head! A prefect confiscates contraband from you, he’s not going to give it back just because you’ve served your detention.”

Kazuma’s face started to burn. Vincent’s tone made him feel like a scolded child. “But… I…”

Danvers shook his head and stepped closer again so he could loom over his Ravenclaw classmate. “Besides, I need to break you of these… unfortunate tendencies you have. It would be _so_ counterproductive if I were to give it back so you could start tossing off to thoughts of half-breeds and muggles again.”

Kazuma could feel hot tears rushing to his cheeks again, and this time they broke through immediately. “But I… I wouldn’t…” He gulped. His lip quivered, and he felt acutely aware of how pathetic he must look. Still, he had to try. He couldn’t let Danvers keep that comic to hold over him. “Please,” he pleaded. “I just… just want…”

For a moment, Danvers’ face seemed to soften. He stroked Kazuma’s forelock with a surprisingly gentle touch, and Kazuma hated to admit how soothing it felt after his ordeal. “Oh, alright… I suppose I can do something for you.”

Once again, Kazuma felt his hope rising, only to have it dashed as Danvers reached not for the bag where he was presumably keeping the centaur comic, but into the pocket of his robe. With cruel pleasure, Danvers pulled out the crumpled silk handkerchief and stuffed it into the inner pocket of Kazuma’s own robe.

“There you go,” the Slytherin said with artificial kindness. “Now, when you’re horny and longing for gross animal dicks, you can huff on this instead and remember the feel of my glorious pure-blood cock.” And he smiled – actually _smiled_ – at Kazuma as though this were some tremendous personal favor.

Kazuma stood there, looking up into those soft green eyes and quaking beneath his robes. There were no words left in his miserable, shame-drenched head with which to reply. Once more, he had that sensation as though the castle were swaying under his feet, and he would topple over if he tried to take a step in any direction.

Finally, Danvers supplied some words for him. He stroked Kazuma’s forelock again and murmured, “You can thank me now, Kaz.”

Kazuma blinked. “Thank… you?” he repeated blankly.

“Any time, Kazzy,” Danvers said, either ignoring or not registering the shorter boy’s incredulity. He gave the Ravenclaw’s dark tresses a quick tousle, then turned to the stairs again, waving over one shoulder. “See you tomorrow, then. Be a good boy, Kaz.”

Kaz stood rooted to the spot for a long time after Vincent left him. His hand was still up in front of him, clutching the gold galleon Danvers had given him for his “transfiguration tutoring.” Slowly, he unclenched his fingers and looked at it. For a solid minute, he stared at the little piece of gold without a thought in his head. Then, shortly before the bell rang, a question presented itself to him, unbidden.

_How much can a galleon buy?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...... Well I feel kind of bad after writing this ;_;
> 
> As previously stated, this is going to be one of my more... relaxed series. Let's face it - everyone knows what Harry Potter is; I don't have to explain every little facet of the lore. I plan to take full advantage of that. 
> 
> That being the case, if any questions occur to you, please feel free to ask! This project is going to be very light on the exposition, so don't assume that any questions I leave unanswered are going to be addressed later. As far as I know, there might never be a proper end. 
> 
> To anyone still hungry for more: See you soon!
> 
> Edit: If anyone can think of a better title for this piece, PLEASE share it with me T_T "Slytherclaw Blackmail" is utter rubbish, but I can't think of anything better. HELP ME!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shaken by his experience in the library, Kazuma takes some time to try and process what's happened to him. 
> 
> And to form a plan to get out from under Danvers' thumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is also unedited. However, I've finished drafting chapter 4 already, and I'm going to give all chapters up to now a review and a polish before posting any further.  
> Until then, enjoy!

“Freedom,” Kazuma breathed in an undertone.

The eagle doorknocker replied, “An answer worthy of Godric Gryffindor himself.”

Kazuma started with surprise as the door swung open. He hadn’t actually heard the eagle’s question. Rather, he had been contemplating the question that came to him on the grand staircase during his trance-like walk back to Ravenclaw tower. Stupidly, he started to ask the eagle to repeat the question, then realized it was pointless and simply walked inside. The common room was empty but for Penelope Clearwater, who was too busy pouring over her Arithmancy text book to notice him.

He looked once more at the galleon in his hand. What should he do with it? Kazuma wondered. Then, he noticed the sound of approaching voices from behind him. He’d heard the bell to dismiss final period ring on his way up; his fellow Ravenclaws would be streaming into the common room soon.

A pang of bitter fury welled up in Kazuma suddenly, and he threw the galleon as hard as he could against the opposite wall. It rebounded with such a loud _bang!_ that even Kazuma jumped in surprise. Penelope flinched and twisted so fast in her seat that she upset her ink bottle and spilled shimmering blue ink across her text book. Furiously she waved her wand to clear the mess away, then rounded on Kazuma.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded in furious undertone.

“Nothing,” Kazuma snapped with a wrenching in his guts. He tried to see where the galleon had landed as an excuse not to meet his prefect’s eye, but he’d lost track of it in his shock.

“What do you mean, ‘Nothing?’! What was that banging?” She was standing up now, glaring at Kazuma. Behind him, Kaz heard a few students filing in behind him with laughter in their voices. They all seemed to fall quiet when they perceived the conflict in the room.

Kazuma still refused to look at her. “I just…” He could feel half a dozen pairs of eyes on the back of his head as he faltered. “I… stumbled and… put my foot down too hard,” he fabricated lamely. Hazarding a glance, Kaz could see that Penelope didn’t buy this for a moment, but that she couldn’t be bothered to dig the truth out of him just then.

“Oh forget it,” she snapped, then pointed toward the boys’ staircase. “Just go up to your dormitory, Kent, and stop being a nuisance!”

“ _Gladly!_ ” the snarl in his own voice took Kazuma by surprise, but he pushed it out of his mind and took his leave. He wasn’t out of shot yet before he heard the first whispers of, ‘What was all that about?’ from the others.

The sixth years’ dormitory was mercifully empty when he walked in, but the rage and shame still bubbled in his gut like congealed potion. Baring his teeth at no one, Kazuma lifted his bag overhead as though he intended to sling it against the foot of his bed. Then, a vision flashed through his mind in which he opened his bag during class to find all his parchment and books stuck together in a sticky, flaking mass of ink from a broken bottle.

The violent impulse popped like a soap bottle. Kazuma let the bag drop to the floor sedately and sprawled himself across the bed. Silence rang in his ears. The plush, comfortable bed and sheets under his stomach suddenly felt novel and unfamiliar – as though they belong to somebody else. As though he had not been sleeping in them for four and a half years. His eyes roved dully about the dim, circular room, and as he took in the other four beds, the nightstands laden with knickknacks, the Quidditch posters, the calendars, and the mat on which Omar Khoury performed his daily prayers, Kazuma’s sense of estrangement spread over his mind like a bruise.

_Not often I have the dormitory to myself like this,_ Kazuma thought. Unlike on any other day, however, this thought brought him no joy. He wasn’t in the mood to meditate, and he doubted that he could have gotten hard just then even if he wanted to masturbate.

This thought brought another to his mind, and he tugged Vincent Danvers’ green silk handkerchief out of his pocket while still lying on his chest. By now the semen had almost dried, but for a few dark wrinkles where the slime was still damp. Even half a foot from his face, Kaz still caught the whiff of it – pungent, slightly bitter, yet almost reminiscent of proving bread. The scent brought the scene in the library back to his mind, and Kazuma’s stomach tightened from the memory.

Ideas for what he might do with the handkerchief twisted past him one by one. Fling it right now out the window. Set fire to it and _then_ fling it out the window. Flush it away down the nearest toilet. Brew a batch of Polyjuice Potion and use Vincent’s essence to get revenge (but no, he would have to get into the restricted section for that). He even imagined bringing the handkerchief to Professor Flitwick and confessing everything that had happened – how Danvers had blackmailed him into performing sexual acts in the school library. Flitwick would undoubtedly know a spell or potion that could trace the handkerchief back to its source.

Then he imagined Professor Snape’s involvement. Everyone knew that the head of Slytherin was willing to bend the rules to their breaking point where members of his own house were concerned. “If there was a time to come forward, it would have been as soon as Mr. Danvers… _allegedly_ issued his demands,” droned Snape’s oily voice, employing all its most condescending notes. “Mr. Kent still chose to have sex with his classmate in a public space and in knowing violation of at least three school rules. What is the point of confessing to such a thing after the fact, unless he already wanted to have sex with Mr. Danvers in the first place? Add to that his possession of _pornography_ within our distinguished castle – the contraband which he defied under his own motivation… Frankly, headmaster, the two boys’ crimes are hardly equal at all. I recommend two weeks’ suspension for Vincent Danvers and expulsion for Kazuma Kent.”

In the end, Kazuma got up and stuffed the handkerchief into a corner of his trunk. He was in no state to look for a solution right now, and he could hear the growing din of voices downstairs that meant his roommates would be coming up at any second. Sure enough, he had just made up his mind that he needed a bath when the sound of Leonard’s voice reached him.

“I say ‘finders keepers.’ Nobody downstairs claimed it, so just keep it! And if it’s missed…” the door swung open, “then I’m sure somebody will come asking about it.”

Omar, dark-skinned and with incredibly fashionable, rectangular wire-rimmed spectacles, was walking ahead of Leonard with a piece of gold pinched between his fingertips. “That still doesn’t make it belong to me. I have to be sure I’ve tried everything first.”

Kazuma wasn’t paying attention to this exchange and would have left without remark had Omar not put a hand out to halt him. “Hey, Kaz. You haven’t lost a galleon have you? Only we found one on the floor in the common room and don’t know who it belongs to.”

Kazuma was careful to keep his eyes locked on Omar’s face, deliberately ignoring the gold coin being held out to him. “No,” he said in something of a croak. Then with pretended levity, he added, “It couldn’t be. I haven’t carried any money in galleons since our third year.” This was perfectly true, after all.

Omar frowned at the coin. “Well… Maybe I ought to post a ‘found’ note up on the notice board.”

Leonard scoffed. “Oh sure, ‘cos nobody but the rightful owner would respond to that. You might as well give the galleon to me if…”

By then, Kazuma was out of the dormitory and on his way to the bathroom. The founders, or whatever Victorian era contractors had gone about updating the school’s plumbing, had had the good sense to keep the baths and the toilets in separate rooms. Since most students preferred to wait until after dinner to bathe, this meant that Kazuma was able to bathe in peace and solitude.

And yet, the privacy didn’t seem to help. Despite having used this bathroom hundreds of times since second-year, Kazuma felt indecent for exposing himself. He couldn’t stop looking at the door as he lathered his body with soap – before getting into he bath, in Japanese fashion. Only once he was scrubbed and rinsed – and his face scrubbed thoroughly a second and third time – did Kazuma let himself sink into the steaming, cloudy water and untense. His back and shoulders were almost painfully tight.

Occasionally, someone in the common room would laugh loud enough to reach him in the bath, but otherwise all was quiet. The memory of those intense green eyes kept reappearing Kazuma’s memory, and he curled up as though to shield his body from their gaze. “ _… it’s practically my duty to set you back on the straight and narrow… Somebody needs to cure you of these sick fantasies._ ”

Kazuma covered his ears as though to shut out Danvers’ echoing words, but they were already trapped in his head. When he shut his eyes, he remembered the underside of the desk in the library, Vincent’s thighs spread open in front of him, and the hot, snake-like grip of the Slytherin’s hand on his wrist. Most vividly, of course, he remembered Vincent’s cock. He remembered how it had looked; how it had smelled; how it had throbbed against his hand while firing sperm at his face. His belly still squirmed at the recollection. A disgraceful part of himself couldn’t help but thinking of that organ with… admiration.

_If only it weren’t like this,_ Kazuma agonized. _Why did I have to smuggle in that comic? He wouldn’t have needed to blackmail me to get…_

Kazuma thrust his head under the water and screamed, repulsed by what he’d just thought. He shouldn’t _want_ to have anything to do with Danvers. Not now that he’d seen the Slytherin’s true colors. Yes, if there was one good thing that came out of this mess, it’s that he had been spared from giving his heart to someone like Vincent Danvers: a bigoted racist who had swallowed the nonsense of ‘blood-status’ in its entirety.

Still, the memory of those turquoise eyes made him feel exposed and vulnerable. Against his better judgement, Kazuma began to dwell on his tormentor’s voice and touch. A kind of queasy thrill fluttered inside of him, and he clenched his thighs together to hide the way his body was responding to them memory. _Danvers was right,_ Kazuma thought manically. _I really am sick. Just not in the way he suggested._

Nearly an hour had passed, and the water was nearly tepid by the time Kazuma got out. Then he held himself under a frigid tap for half a minute, dried his shivering body in one of the fluffy blue towels, and dressed himself to go to bed. Dinner had just started, he knew, but he didn’t dare risk meeting Danvers somewhere that he could make a scene. Just as he was about to lie down, Omar’s cat, “Catsanova,” came out from behind a nightstand and jumped onto his pillow.

Kazuma stared at the scrawny little gremlin long enough for it to roll over and beseech a tummy rub. Then with a huff, Kaz bent over and lifted the entire pillow with Catsanova sitting on it. This tactic was so unexpected that Catsanova gave a lurch and leapt onto the floor. Half a second later, Kazuma threw the pillow onto the floor beside him.

“There, you win!” Kazuma snapped, dropping into bed and pulling the curtains shut against Catsanova’s bemused mewling. “Go purr where I don’t have to hear it.” Then he pulled up the covers, threw himself down, and promptly began to regret his treatment of Catsanova, who had certainly not intended him any harm.

He could imagine his old Onmyoudo master’s stern glare if he saw Kazuma lashing out like that. “ _An onmyouji ought to cleanse the very air around him with the force of his presence. To become an amplifier of negative energy is an aberration of our duty as promoters of harmony._ ” And yet in spite of his long bath, Kazuma didn’t feel that his person was especially clean just then.

Again, Kazuma’s thoughts drifted back to Vincent Danvers. The boy couldn’t _really_ intend to keep blackmailing him for long, could he? All that talk of “rehabilitation” surely wasn’t said in earnest. Yes, there was the bright side to it. Sooner or later, Danvers would either get bored of tormenting him – Kazuma – or he would get a girlfriend and become too busy for blackmail. How long would it take? A week? Several weeks? A few months? Surely not the whole term…

In the worst case scenario, if Danvers became too outrageous… or rather _continued to be_ too outrageous in his demands, Kazuma supposed that he could still go to Professor Flitwick. He ran through the scenario in his head. “ _Professor, another student has taken a sensitive item from me, and he’s using it to blackmail me into doing things that are against school rules._ ” That might be just vague enough to get the point across, and yet not confess about the pornography. If he struck preemptively like this, and if Flitwick managed to catch him by surprise, then Danvers might deny the whole thing out of embarrassment. The case might already be built against Danvers before Snape ever got a chance to put his foot in.

_But not yet,_ Kazuma told himself. He recalled his earlier reasons for not going to Professor Flitwick and decided that they were still sound. At this point, Snape could still try to pass the blackmail off as a ‘one time incident’ and assign the blame to Kazuma. If Kaz wanted to make sure Vincent Danvers was the one to be most severely punished, then he would need to bide his time. Let the crime draw itself out into an “active and ongoing case of harassment.” Give Danvers enough rope to hang himself with.

_In the meantime…_

Kazuma sat up and drew back the curtains of his four-poster. For a moment, he thought that Catsanova had left a dead bird on his discarded pillow. On further inspection, it was actually a clump of five or six quills in various states of repair. He picked through them for a second, recognized a wren quill he’d lost more than a month ago, and felt a fresh pang of guilt for how he’d treated Catsanova.

“I’m sorry,” Kazuma said out loud, looking around for the cat. “And… I accept your apology too, if that’s what this is.” The little black cat didn’t emerge, however, so Kazuma dropped the collection of quills into his top drawer before getting back to his business. Getting out of his fix with Danvers was going to require care, patience, and foresight. Thankfully, he had been practicing divination since before he ever arrived at Hogwarts. 

Kazuma picked up his bag where he’d dropped it at the foot of his bed and started to rifle through the contents. It was a few weeks since he’d had to pull out his master’s old divining board, but he felt sure the last time he’d used it was for an assignment of Trelawny’s. When he got to the bottom of his bag without finding it, he opened his trunk and started to pour through its contents – careful to avoid touching the green silk handkerchief as he searched. All of a sudden, he was staring at the bottom of his trunk.

Fighting to keep his breathing steady, Kazuma removed each individual item from his trunk: shirts, trousers, spare robes, forgotten boxes of candy, jars of spare potion ingredients, and even a container of shoe polish a cousin had given him in fourth year. For a moment, he entertained the possibility that Catsanova had absconded with the divining board, but he knew it was a baseless suspicion. Even if the cat had been known to steal things other than pens, the board was too heavy for that scrawny feline to move.

Staving off panic by force of will, Kazuma methodically repacked his trunk and mentally ran through every place he might have left his master’s precious, hand-carved, beautifully painted divining board. Meanwhile, he tried to ignore the memory of how strangely light his bag had felt on the way up from the library – a fact that he’d attributed to the loss of his comic at the time.

Finally, as he locked his trunk and got to his feet, the reality asserted itself with unflinching certainty. Kazuma had not lost his divining board anywhere. It had been stolen. Vincent Danvers had taken both it _and_ Kazuma’s comic in the library.

He didn’t want to believe it. Not because he wanted to think there was any good in Danvers, but because of what the theft signified. Between the two items – the comic and the divining board – one of them was obviously valuable. One of them was contraband, and the other wasn’t. If Danvers had really taken both, his decision to keep quiet about one of them had been deliberate. The implication chilled Kazuma, and he closed himself again in the curtains of his four-poster.

Sometime later (it felt like only minutes to Kazuma), footsteps approached up the spiral staircase, and someone knocked on the corner of his bed.

“Kaz?” It was Leonard’s voice. Kazuma heard the sound of the curtains being drawn back, but he stayed firmly in place. “Alright, Kaz? I thought you would be in the infirmary.”

Kazuma, who had been nowhere close to sleep, blinked and half-looked over his shoulder at Leonard’s worried expression. “The infirmary? Why would I be there?”

“Danvers said that you weren’t feeling too good when you left the library today,” Leonard said. Behind him, Omar wore a matching expression of tentative concern.

Kazuma felt his stomach tighten yet again. He thought he would have an ulcer if this kept happening. “When… when did he say that?”

“At dinner,” Leonard said, frowning. “He came to ask us about you, actually. He said he was worried about you.”

Kazuma looked between his friends’ anxious expressions and felt his heart pounding in his neck. “Danvers… was worried about me?”

“I know. He doesn’t seem the type, does he?” Omar said, his heavy brows creasing.

Leonard looked askance at him. “What do you mean? Kazuma was giving him extra transfiguration tutoring today. Is he not allowed to be concerned about his mentor?”

Omar shook his head and gave a conciliatory shrug. “It’s not that, it’s just… I’ve never really liked him, you know? He’s sharp-tongued, and he has a real attitude. Just not the kind of guy to show concern for an acquaintance.”

Leonard shot Kazuma an ‘are-you-following-this?’ kind of look which Kaz was too preoccupied to recognize. “Did…” Kazuma attempted to wet his lips with his dry tongue. “Did he say anything else? Anything about the… lesson?” His voice faltered on the last word, and his companions glanced at each other concernedly.

“No,” Leo said. “Should he?” Kazuma shook his head, keeping his lips sealed.

“Kaz… I think you really should see Madame Pomfrey,” Omar advised. “You look really pale.”

“It’s just because I didn’t eat dinner, is all,” Kazuma said dismissively.

“Oh yeah,” Leo said, ignoring Kaz’s attempts to end the conversation. “Why _did_ you skip dinner anyway? And after you just chastised me for skipping breakfast.”

“I was exhausted!” Kazuma snapped with sudden temper. Then, before the shock could set in, he reigned himself back and added ruefully, “Trust me, you’d be exhausted too if you had to hold Vincent Danvers’ attention on his work for a whole hour.” Gratifyingly, Leonard and Omar both smirked at that.

“Well here.” Omar pulled his wand out of his pocket and conjured a wooden trencher out of thin air, laden with a pair of chicken legs, a few shelled walnuts, and a pile of chips. “Saved this for you. I’ve been needing a reason to practice this spell anyway.”

Kazuma accepted the trencher with numb fingers. As the smell of chicken and potatoes reached his nostrils, his stomach gave an eager rumble. All the emotions he’d been feeling that day resurfaced in one flashing instance, and Kaz hastily wiped at his eyes. “Thanks, Omar.”

“Don’t mention it.” Omar offered a friendly smile, and then his eyes started to drift around the room. “Catsanova? Where’ve you got to?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this chapter is a bit filler-y. Still, at least it's relatively short. Short compared to my usual story-length at least. Hopefully it gives Kazuma's character some context. 
> 
> See you all in the next one!
> 
> Comments/questions appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If you wanna take the risk, then be my guest. Run to Flitwick right now. Tell him everything. But by the time you bring him back, your evidence will have disappeared. Even Dumbledore won’t be able to retrieve it.”

The next morning, Kazuma’s good mood lasted all of three minutes before he remembered that his divining board was lost – most likely stolen by Vincent Danvers. His belly had a hard, rotten feeling as though his guts had turned into driftwood overnight, and every movement he made while getting ready for his classes felt agonizingly slow even though he was the first one awake in his dormitory.

Part of the problem was that he didn’t know how best to confront Danvers. He would probably see him at breakfast, but he couldn’t very well corner him in the middle of the Great Hall. If not there, though, then he wouldn’t get a chance until they met each other in charms during fourth period. On his was to breakfast, however, the dilemma was solved for him.

“Alright, Kent? This is a bit late for you.”

Kazuma shivered from head to toe as he turned around. Danvers was leaning against the wall a few feet from the entrance to the dungeons where he had evidently been waiting. His pearly grin would have been charming on anyone else, but Kazuma only felt flustered and cagey. He pulled out his watch to check the time. “But breakfast goes on for another hour.” 

“So I’d have expected you here at least half an hour ago.” Kazuma felt intense dislike for the proprietary look in Danvers’ eyes – as though the Ravenclaw boy were little more than a trinket in a shop window. “Since you have some time,” Vincent continued, “why don’t we have a little chat?” He gestured with his head to the gap under the stairs, and Kazuma couldn’t help but think that this was a popular place for boys and girls to snog in between periods.

Still, he’d wanted an opportunity to talk to Danvers in private, and here it was being handed to him. “Sure. Let’s talk.” He injected a hint of bite into his tone and caught a glint of amusement in the Slytherin’s turquoise eyes.

Danvers led him to the shadiest recess under the stair and grinned at him. “I missed you at dinner last night. Spending our time productively, I trust?”

Kazuma glared and decided not to let Danvers lead the conversation this early. “Where’s my divining board?”

Danvers’ eyebrows raised and his smirk lost a little of its savor. “So that’s what it’s called… I did wonder how long it would take you to notice it was missing.” He waited just long enough for Kaz to open his mouth, then cut in, “Still… Not very smart of you to lug something so big and obviously-valuable around with you where it could easily be stolen.”

Kazuma could hear the blood pounding in his own ears. He started to scan Danvers’ body up and down, rather obviously checking to see if he had it on his person. “It’s not here, Kazzy,” Vincent cajoled. “I haven’t even gone back to my common room for my school bag yet, and I wouldn’t bring it out here for you to just use a summoning charm on it.”

Kaz felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. “Give it back,” he growled, clenching his hands into tight fists.

Danvers brushed off the Ravenclaw’s naked hostility with another infuriatingly superior grin. “Oh, I might. Soon. If I feel that you’ve earned it.”

Kazuma leaned in a little closer, which unfortunately threw their size difference into sharp relief. Not for the first time, he missed living in Japan and being considered of ‘average height.’ “I’ll go to Flitwick and tell him what you’ve stolen from me. He’ll _make_ you give it back.”

The casual amusement in Danvers’ gaze turned suddenly flinty. He was still grinning, but it resembled more of a threatening snarl. “You _could_ do that, sure. And when you do, I can activate my fail-safes. Your ‘divining board’ will be nothing but cinders.”

Fear and outrage warred inside Kazuma until he could barely move his tongue. It felt as though he had to chew on every couple words before he could fit them through his teeth. “You couldn’t… If… Even if you could… Flitwick would… be able to restore it… You’d still be caught.”

“Ahh!” Now Danvers’ eyes were shining in triumph. “Now that’s actually rather interesting. Are you familiar with the Chaotic Matter Potion?”

Kazuma was. It took him a second to remember what it did. It took another three seconds to figure out what Danvers was implying. Then another three for him to overcome the shocking audacity of the scheme. “You can’t… You won’t… that… That’s totally illegal!”

Danvers held up a didactic finger. “Ahh, but it isn’t. Not _totally_ illegal. Use it on a Golden Snitch, and that’s a stiff fine along with a life-time ban from anything Quidditch related. Use it on a wizard’s wand, that’s an even bigger fine, the cost of replacement, and a maximum two months’ stay in Azkaban. But using it to keep sensitive documents from being read after burning is _specifically_ protected by law.”

Kazuma was starting to feel dizzy, but he held his glare on the haughty Slytherin. However, getting the words out was like herding hummingbirds through a window. “I don’t… imagine… that covering up… the destruction of stolen property… has the same protection.”

Danvers hummed in satisfaction. “Oh come on, Kent, you’ve been so savvy up till now. You must realize that that’s the most beautiful thing about it. It’s in the very _nature_ of the potion to be untraceable after use. The ashes will forget that they were ever any property of yours, and I’ll just say that it was a diary I’d rigged to burn itself in the event of discovery.”

Kazuma staggered, then gripped the front of Danvers’ robe, snarling at him. “Liar! You’re bluffing! You haven’t got-”

“Careful!” Danvers advised, calm but firm. With a flick of the eyes, he drew Kazuma’s gaze down to where Vincent had a hand in the folds of his cloak, clutched upon his wand, or… some link to the divining board in the Slytherin common room, perhaps. Kazuma relaxed his grip just slightly. Danvers gave a harsh laugh and pressed his advantage. “If you wanna take the risk, then be my guest. Run to Flitwick right now. Tell him everything. But by the time you bring him back, your evidence will have disappeared. Even Dumbledore won’t be able to retrieve it.”

Doubt lanced through Kazuma, but he slowly took his hands off Danvers’ robes. “But why?” he asked, still struggling to focus through the clouds of hysteria in his head. “Why are you doing this? Why go to all this trouble?”

Danvers snorted. “This again? I thought I answered this question yesterday.”

“No!” Kazuma yelped, voice cracking. Then he cringed at himself, hoping to god that nobody had overheard him, and continued in a quavering whisper. “I… You took my comic already, and I don’t want it back. I’m done… I want to call it quits. I promise I’ll never tell anyone what we did yesterday. Just give me my divining board back… Please, Danvers… I’ll do anything.”

Despite the sincerity of his plea, Danvers continued to look down at him with cold, mocking pity. “See, that’s the thing, Kent. I knew before I ever confronted you yesterday that you’d want to call it quits early on. But we just can’t. That dirty comic you had was just a symptom of an even deeper problem. It wouldn’t do any good just to confiscate it and leave the underlying problem unchecked.”

_This again._ “This isn’t funny, Danvers!” Kazuma whined, and he stopped holding back his tears. As shameful as it was for someone to see him crying, he couldn’t think of any other way to get the point across. He would cry in front of every Slytherin in Hogwarts if it would ensure the safety of his master’s divining board. Kazuma stared straight into those pale green eyes until his own tears had smudged them out of sight.

“Of course not.” Danvers adopted a gentle, consoling tone that Kazuma found perfectly oily. “I would _never_ go to all this trouble on a whim or for some pitiful joke. I mean it.” He gently took hold of Kazuma’s shoulders. “From the very beginning, Kaz, I’ve had your best interests at heart. I want to help you. That’s why I _need_ your cooperation. Let me show you how much better it is to true to your own race.”

Kazuma couldn’t believe what he was hearing. If Danvers wasn’t joking, then he had to be sick in the head. He wasn’t sure how to toe the line between satisfying the prefect’s craven wishes and standing up for himself – not when his prized possession was on the line. Still, there was one little nugget of anger he thought might be safe to vent. “Bullshit… You say you have my best interests at heart, but yesterday you called me a ‘faggot.’ What’s the point of… of teaching me to prefer purebloods if… I’m never… going to…”

“I never called you a faggot,” Danvers said, and his tone was suddenly edged with an almost clinical coolness.

“Yes you did!” Kaz hissed indignantly. “I remember it! You said…” But in the blare of humiliation he’d felt from that one word, he’d forgotten the exact phrase where it had been used.

Vincent took advantage of Kazuma’s hesitation and shook his head. “Then you must have misunderstood me. I said it was disgusting that you were into bestiality, but I would never call you a faggot.”

“You did!” Kaz argued hotly. “I remember-”

“C’mon, be reasonable,” Vincent said, relaxing his voice again and rubbing the shorter Ravenclaw’s shoulder. “I like guys, myself. I’ve already told you that I think you’re cute, haven’t I? Why would I call you a faggot if I’m one too? It makes no sense.”

Kazuma’s heart pounded at being called ‘cute.’ Had Danvers called him cute? The question seemed muddled all of a sudden. On the matter of being called a faggot, however, he remained staunchly unconvinced. The word had haunted his memory too clearly to have been a mistake. Still… If Danvers was going to pretend that he’d never said the word, then he was as good as retracting the insult – even if he refused to apologize for it. That was probably as good as Kaz could hope for. “Fine,” he said sulkily.

The Slytherin boy’s smile reappeared, and he held Kaz’s shoulders in both hands. “C’mon, don’t look so glum, Kazzy. The important thing is that I’m trying to help you. You’ll be so much healthier – and so much _happier –_ being with another pureblood than with some half-breed who doesn’t even share your anatomy. No centaur could ever understand the way you think.” Kazuma felt the taller boy’s hands draw him closer, then wipe the tears from his cheeks. “You deserve somebody who understands and cares about you. This is for your own good. You see?”

Kazuma held his peace for a while. He had about 8 different answers longing to burst out in Vincent Danvers’ face, but he knew the boy would be more tractable if he pretended to think about it first. Once he judged that he’d offered enough breathing room, he looked up and asked meekly, “Can’t I please have it back if I promise to do as you say? You don’t know what that board means to me… I could hardly sleep last night, not knowing if it was okay…”

Danvers rubbed his shoulder consolingly. “Don’t worry, Kaz. I swear, as long as you cooperate, not a thing’s going to happen to it.

This was so inadequate that Kazuma had to resist the urge to bellow Vincent’s face, but it would be pointless to lose his temper now. Instead, he just hung his head resignedly and tried to staunch the flow of tears.

“Hey, hey!” Danvers continued to stroke his face, and even his hair, speaking to him as to a frightened animal. “It’s going to be alright. Just remember, this is all for your own good. It’s going to help you. Okay?”

Kazuma deliberately avoided his eyes. “Okay…”

Danvers smiled. “Say, ‘Thank you, Vincent.’”

Kazuma looked at him a little sharply, feeling a pang of anger and only just managing to keep it out of his voice. “What?”

Danvers’ grin broadened even further, and he said a little more insistently with his artificial sweetness, “Say, ‘Thank you, Vincent.’”

His belly gave such a violent lurch. Kaz suddenly felt glad that this conversation was happening before breakfast after all. But he could tell from the Slytherin’s significant look that there was no leaving until he had obeyed. With all the gratitude he could manufacture, Kazuma said, “Thank you, Vincent.”

Then out of nowhere, Vincent leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. It wasn’t a long or deep kiss, and there was no tongue in it, but still it took Kazuma so by surprise that he stumbled backward. He would have hit his head on the underside of the stairs, had Vincent not been laying a hand on his head and so cushioned the impact with his fingers. The Slytherin just chuckled at the little Ravenclaw’s flustered reaction and tousled his hair fondly. “Good boy. Now run along to breakfast so you’re not late for class. I’ll see you in charms, Kazzy!”

Bemused, Kazuma watched Vincent until the Slytherin boy’s back disappeared down the steps to the dungeons. His mouth was still hanging slightly agape. Inside his chest, revulsion and some other emotion he couldn’t identify were leering at each other from opposite sides of an iron gate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I actually proofread this one. I've finished proofreading Chapter 3 as well, but I wanted to get this one out first. 
> 
> I hope you're enjoying these shorter, snackier chapters so far. Let me hear your thoughts! 
> 
> See you in the next one.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaz's day was going quite badly enough before Danvers decided to feel him up in class. Yet, as Vince goes on whispering sweet nothings in his ear, Kaz begins to feel as though the whole thing were a dream... and not necessarily a bad one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anybody is wondering, YES, this is the fic formerly entitled "Slytherclaw Blackmail." I came up with something better at long last

Penelope Clearwater approached Kazuma in the Great Hall after he’d barely had time to find a seat and apologized for her short temper the day before. This was both unexpected and slightly embarrassing, but Kaz responded in kind by apologizing for his own quick temper. Afterwards, Kaz was distracted enough to find his appetite and down a plate of eggs, toast, and mushrooms before class. His mind still felt rather disordered by stress, but luckily, his first class that day was Care of Magical Creatures.

The previous year, Care of Magical Creatures had been one of Kazuma’s best subjects, just after Transfiguration and just ahead of Divination. Professor Kettleburn had been a brilliant, if slightly dotty, professor, and Kaz had been eager to sign up for his NEWT classes prior to Kettleburn’s sudden (if not entirely unexpected) retirement. Professor Hagrid was, in Kazuma’s personal estimation, something of a joke. He was certainly good-natured in his own way, but he had cancelled their very first lesson of the term on account of the Malfoy boy from Slytherin sustaining an injury during the period prior. Since then, even the sixth years had learned nothing more dangerous than how to tell knarls from hedgehogs – which they’d already mastered in preparation for their OWL’s.

That morning, they were looking after a pack of small, shelled creatures the size, shape, and color of underripe persimmons. If Professor Hagrid had ever told them what these creatures were called, neither Kazuma nor the other five students in his class could remember. Hagrid only ever referred to them as “the runts.” ‘Care’ involved feeding the creatures ground allspice dissolved in white vinegar and stroking their backs until they keeled over – at which point they would produce whistling little snores at intervals over the next three and a half hours. (It was almost cute during the first lesson).

For once, Kazuma felt that his time in Professor Hagrid’s class could NOT have been better spent. Despite his constant, underlying nausea, the fresh, damp air and the walk across the grounds had given him a chance to clear his head a little, and the lassitude of his ‘runt’ gave him a chance to consider the Danvers problem.

For a start, was Vincent lying about having a sample of Chaotic Matter Potion? He’d never seen a recipe for it, but Professor Snape had given a demonstration of its effects two years ago, prior to their lesson on Disorientation Draughts. “Zirkus’s Substantive Obliviation Serum, more commonly referred to as the Chaotic Matter Potion, incorporates the same principle on a more encompassing level,” he recalled in the professor’s droning voice. The rest of the lecture was a little dimmer, but it had gone something like… “It is useful for its ability to render a transfiguration irreversible. As may be inferred from the name, it works as a kind of _Obliviate_ charm in a bottle…” And he had dipped one of his long fingers into the milky blue bottle he was using for the demonstration. It clung to the digit like oil. “… but one which acts specifically on inanimate objects.” Snape had then drawn his finger over a horseshoe magnet that was clinging to the side of a cast-iron cauldron. As though pulled by a kind of suction, every drop of Zirkus’s Serum immediately unwrapped itself from around Snape’s finger and leeched into the horseshoe magnet, which twitched feebly and then clattered to the desk. He’d gone on to explain that because of its expense and complexity, it was seldom brewed, impossible to buy for commercial use, and that it had a reputation for being put to illicit uses.

Kazuma surfaced from his reverie for a brief moment as his ‘runt’ gave an especially loud snort, then rolled onto its head. Kaz couldn’t help but smile, and he stroked the thing with a finger before returning his thoughts to Danvers. Snape had said that the potion was never commercially sold, but not that it was a controlled substance. So presumably, it was legal to brew the potion so long as it wasn’t used for anything unlawful. Could Danvers have brewed a batch of it in just one night? The Disorientation Draught, which fell into the same category, had taken just shy of an hour to put together, but that one hour was intensive.

Eventually, Kaz concluded that it was theoretically possible. Danvers was known to be better than average at potions. What’s more, if the sadistic Slytherin was in the habit of theft and blackmail, he might have already had a supply of the potion ready.

Kaz tried to think of what his logical next step should be, but a more distracting thought kept popping into his head: _Vincent said he thinks I’m cute. Was that a lie?_ Constantly, Kazuma reminded himself, ‘What he thinks of me is neither here nor there.’ Eventually, though, Kaz had to concede that the question wasn’t going to let him go until he’d followed it through, and so he turned to meet it.

‘Maybe Vincent DOES think I’m cute. So what?’ _So you two were in agreement from the start. You wanted each other._ ‘If that were true, he ought to have said as much.’ _You didn’t._ ‘I thought he’d be disgusted if he knew I fancied him.’ _Perhaps he thought the same thing._ ‘I find that hard to believe.’ _He might have._ ‘It doesn’t change anything either way. I never thought about blackmailing Vincent because it would have been WRONG.’ _True… but even so, he might fancy you for real._ ‘So what?’ _So if he knew that, then he wouldn’t HAVE to blackmail you to hold your attention. He and you-_

“All righ’, Kent?”

Kaz looked up from his ‘runt’ in surprise. Then he looked even further up until he found Hagrid’s face looming amid the mass of wild beard. “Professor?” he said formally. He glanced at his classmates and was surprised to find that none of them were watching him. Hagrid had spoken uncharacteristically softly, and the other five were similarly lost in daydreams of their own.

“So… Kent…” He was barely fidgeting, but the gamekeeper’s enormous size exaggerated each motion. He continued to speak in a relatively confidential murmur, though his voice rumbled like a miniature landslide. “Yer from Japan, righ’? Tha’s practically the other side o’ the world, ’n all…”

“Um… I suppose so…” Kazuma felt severely nonplussed by the question. It’d been years since he’d had to answer this sort of introductory-question – much less from one of his teachers.

“So I was wonderin’… Over in… yer neck o’ the woods… How do they feel about, erm… magical creatures?”

Kazuma blinked and tried to grapple with the open-ended question. “Well, there’s… more of them, I suppose. Wizards in Japan don’t feel that their homes are complete without at least a few garden variety magical creatures around.” He thought for a moment. “Also, there’s a common belief that, ‘one should be wary of a man whose home is shunned by Mononoke.’”

“Izzat right?” Hagrid seemed interested, but still furtive. “An’ what about… about _dangerous_ creatures?”

Kaz frowned. “I… Well I guess it depends… For instance, we have kappas in Japan, but they’re usually not as dangerous because we know how to get along. My old teacher was friends with a kappa who used to do his gardening.”

“Right, right,” Hagrid said, and he bent over slightly until Kazuma could smell the leather of his moleskin overcoat. “And ’ow do they deal with it if a creature… er… Hurts sum’n?”

Kazuma looked at him shrewdly. “Is this… something to do with the hippogriff incident?” Kaz thought that the man actually shuddered for a moment. Hagrid didn’t fully meet his eyes after that.

“Well… I suppose…” After struggling with himself, he let slip, “It was my fault, y’ see… I should ‘a been looking after them kids more closely… shouldn’ a trusted that Malfoy lad to mind his manners… And now Buckbeak is… he’s in trouble ‘coz o’ me…” Kazuma felt a flash of pity as, toward the end, he could hear the beginning of tears in the hairy man’s voice. _What a gentle soul…_ But Hagrid sniffed and manfully pulled himself under control. “Anyway… Just thought I’d ask if ye… knew anything that might help the poor thing…”

Kaz bit his lip. He remembered a similar incident happening in Japan once when he was 9, but he couldn’t remember the details now and never learned how it ended. “Could I… Could I get back to you on that, Professor?”

“I don’t want t’ be any trouble,” Hagrid said with forced levity. “I don’ expect a miracle or nothin’… Just thought I’d ask is all.”

Kazuma wasn’t fooled, but he imitated the man’s airiness. “It’s no trouble at all. Actually, I have to return a letter to my father this week anyway. He’s still in Japan, so I’ll mention this to him.”

Hagrid blinked, then said earnestly. “That’s awful kind of ye. Thanks, Kent.”

The lesson ended a few minutes after this conversation, so Kazuma barely had time to pick up his reverie from where he’d left off. Then, on the way back to the castle, the rain abruptly decided that it was going to fall after all and came down all at once. The frenzied sprint back to the castle left him no time for reflection.

His next class of the day was double-potions (with Hufflepuff, thankfully), followed by Ancient Runes. Snape’s lecture, as ever, left him with no concentration to spare for his thoughts. Ancient Runes was easier, but his friend Omar Khoury sat beside him in class and was checking Kaz’s notes too often for him to sink very deep into his thoughts. Consequently, the argument he’d been having with himself remained unresolved, and eventually slipped quietly into the back of his mind.

When the bell rang and Kazuma started to pack his bag, the thought sprang forward again. _If Vincent knew how you’d felt about-_

“Hey Kaz.” Omar was grinning at him. “I forgot to tell you – my sister sent me a package of coffee from her work in Turkey this morning. I’m going to brew a batch when we get back to the common room. Care to join me?” At the mention of his and Omar’s shared passion, Kaz was quite effectively distracted. The two of them talked about coffee and their expectations of the Turkish brew all the way down the stairs to the second floor corridor, and Kazuma was the happiest he’d felt in two days. He’d all but forgotten about his problem with Danvers until he felt a strong hand drop upon his shoulder and halt him in his tracks.

“Here you are, Kazzy!” came Vincent Danvers’ cheerful voice.

Omar had walked ahead a couple steps before Vincent spoke and looked over his shoulder. Kazuma felt his chest tighten and felt a sudden, urgent pressure in his bladder. “Hey…” He kept his face as blank as possible as he met Omar’s gaze, but the other Ravenclaw boy looked perfectly impassive.

Danvers came up to show his thin, pearly grin to Kaz, then directed his gaze at Omar. “Alright, Khoury? Kaz will be sitting with me in today’s Charms lesson, if that’s fine.” It wasn’t really a question.

Omar’s expression didn’t change. “What for?” If he felt anything other than polite curiosity, he was hiding it well, Kazuma thought.

“Oh, didn’t Kazzy here tell you?” Vincent said brightly, and he gave Kazuma’s shoulder a little shake. “That was our deal. He’d help me out in transfiguration, and in return I’d help him out in Charms. You didn’t forget, did you Kazzy?”

Kazuma felt panic rising inside of him, but their pressure of both boys’ gazes compelled him to stay in control. He imagined shrinking and pushing at his panic until it was condensed to tight balls in the marrow of his bones, then sealed it off. Then he drew a mask of enforced calm over his whole body, ensuring that he demeanor would seem natural to any onlookers. “Yeah…” He glanced at Vincent, then at Omar. “Sorry… I was exhausted yesterday… Must have forgotten to mention it. But yeah, I said I would sit with Danvers today.”

The smallest frown – nearly a pout – pulled at Omar’s lips. “But I’ve been helping you already… Are you going to sit with him for the rest of the term, then?”

Kazuma felt a pang of guilt, but he didn’t have to look at Vincent to sense his searching look. “It’s just a… a trial, I guess. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll be back on your side of the classroom for sure.”

There was a beat, then Omar gave a theatric sigh. “Oh, alright… I’ll just sit at my desk… alone… without a friend…” he breathed sarcastically.

“You’re welcome to come sit with us,” Danvers offered lightly. Kazuma looked at him sharply and feared for a moment that his horror might show itself on his face. _What the hell are you playing at?!_

But Omar gave a very thin-lipped smile and said, “No, that’s alright. I’m… most comfortable in my own seat. It would only break my concentration to switch places now.”

Danvers chuckled easily. “Suit yourself. We’ll see you around, then.”

“Mhm.” And without any apparent ire, Omar allowed Vincent and Kazuma to precede him into the classroom.

Danvers led Kaz over to a desk near the corner of the classroom where they were close to Professor Flitwick, but slightly estranged from everyone else. “I missed you, Kazzy,” Vincent said in a warm undertone as they took their seats. Kazuma seemed to feel the Slytherin’s voice sliding down his spine and through his legs. “I’ve been thinking about you all day, you know… Have you been a good boy?”

Kaz breathed quickly to try and keep from blushing while he checked for potential eavesdroppers. “Yes…” he replied sedately.

Fortunately, just as Danvers opened his mouth to ask another humiliating question, Professor Flitwick arrived and sauntered up to his desk with a rousing call of, “Good afternoon, class!” After that, surviving the next hour and a half beside Vincent Danvers would just be a simple matter of keeping his mouth shut, focusing on the lesson, and not doing anything to draw attention to himself. Occasionally he spared a glance for his vacant seat across the room, beside which Omar was dutifully taking notes. 

Just as Kazuma was starting to settle down, he felt a pressure against his leg and tensed right up again. After a moment he concluded that it was only Danvers’ knee leaning against his thigh. He couldn’t tell if it was deliberate or not, and he didn’t dare look at him to check, but he didn’t seem to be doing anything else. A few seconds later, the pressure increased, accompanied by a faint jostling as though the Slytherin were bouncing his other knee idly. Half a minute after that, when Kazuma noticed Vincent biting his nails out of the corner of his eye, he finally let himself breathe, convinced that it was purely incidental.

With his mind momentarily set at ease, Kazuma was able to give the lecture his full attention. He soon had six inches of detailed notes scrawled on the parchment in front of him, including annotations for cross-referencing passages of the textbook. Then, after about 10 uninterrupted minutes, he felt a hand on his thigh, and his quill shot a spatter of tiny black dots across the width of the parchment.

_What do I do?_ Kazuma worried. On one hand, if he kept perfectly still, Danvers might take it as implied permission. But on the other, what would Danvers do if he – Kazuma – caused a fuss in class? If all the boy wanted to do was touch his leg, it might be safest just to put up with it for the time being. And it wasn’t even… _terribly_ invasive, Kaz considered. Vincent was barely allowing the tips of his fingers to rest on his leg beneath the desk. Or…

But, no. A few seconds later, Vincent’s hand started to move again. Kazuma felt that large, heavy, warm palm slide inward to grip at his thigh. He did his best to keep his breath steady and not blush, but Danvers’ hand worked in a steady, purposeful rhythm that absorbed his attention. More worrying still, Kaz could feel blood rushing from his frantically beating heart to his crotch. He tried discreetly to close his legs and slide them away from his classmate, but Vincent just squeezed his muscle firmly and wouldn’t permit him to get away. Kaz knew, even without Danvers’ threats, that he didn’t dare do anything that would call attention to himself.

Kazuma did his best to focus on the lesson, but Flitwick’s voice sounded so small and distant in his ears. His world seemed condensed to the desk where he sat, the robes that felt intolerably hot and stuffy against his burning skin, the hand that was stroking his leg mere inches from his pounding erection, and the eyes that he couldn’t see, yet felt boring into his neck like needles. He didn’t know how he could possibly keep his eyes open any longer with the room becoming so black and so warm…

Then his whole body twitched as a murmur began around the classroom. Students began shuffling books aside and storing quills back in their desks. The heat and pressure of Vincent Danvers’ palm was missing from Kazuma’s thigh, and the turquoise-eyed boy was leaning forward to take a pair of walnut-sized crystal balls from the box Professor Flitwick was holding out, then passed the box down the line.

Kaz’s head of house caught his eye as he hastily straightened up in his seat. “Gloomy weather getting you down, Kent?” he asked chummily.

It took Kaz a second to work out that Flitwick had probably thought he was nodding off a second ago. “N-no Professor,” he said hastily, then affected a beleaguered smile. “Bit of a rough night, that’s all.”

The diminutive wizard nodded, then noticed the splattered parchment on the table and clucked his tongue disparagingly. “Well… Not to worry. Mr. Danvers,” he nodded to Kazuma’s desk mate, “was one of my Outstanding students last year. I’m sure he’d be able to give you a hand.”

Kaz half-turned in Vincent’s direction and saw the Slytherin return a personable grin. “It would be my pleasure, Professor!” he said. Flitwick gave an approving nod, then went off down the row to check on his other students. Once the professor was no longer in shot, Vincent’s grin became a little more sinister, and he continued in an undertone, “I’m sure I can help Kent with his wand-work.”

Eager to get out from under his class-mate’s hungry leer, Kaz took his own crystal ball quickly, set it in front of him, withdrew his wand… and then glanced down at the heading of his lecture notes. _Scrying Charms._ “Um… What are we supposed to be scrying again?” he whispered as softly as he could manage.

Danvers didn’t snigger at him, but he clearly wanted to. He gestured with his head toward a small iron trunk resting atop Flitwick’s desk, hiding the professor’s usual pile of books from view. “Flitwick’s put a card with something written on it in that box, along with another scrying crystal. We’re supposed to link the two so we can see what’s inside, and there’s 15 house points in it for the first one to do it.”

“Right!” Kazuma said quickly, lifting his wand.

“Did you really miss _all_ of that?” Danvers asked, pretending to be astonished. Kaz did his best not to bridle at the remark and instead practiced the incantation under his breath, but Danvers wasn’t finished. “Poor thing… getting all bent out of shape over something so trivial.”

Shame and resentment brought a harsh prickle up Kazuma’s shoulders, but he did his best to shut it out and focus on the crystal ball on his desk. “ _Tele-oculus_ ” he muttered. The marble continued to bear an inverted reflection of the classroom.

“You had me worried for a second there. Were you really about to swoon over from that little pat on the leg?” Danvers pressed. “Like Potter when he sees a dementor?”

A fresh wave of annoyance burned in Kaz’s chest, but he tried to ignore the other boy as best he could. “ _Tele-oculus._ ” Still no effect.

“I mean, a little touch like that… That’s nothing. Haven’t you done bigger things than that before?”

Kaz realized that the silent treatment wasn’t going to be enough with this one. “I think you know the answer that question already,” he mumbled for Danvers’ ears alone.

The Slytherin waved his answer aside. “I mean, apart from that. Apart from _me._ Who else have you done it with?” Kaz flinched and looked to see if anyone was listening, but no one seemed to be paying attention. “Or are you still a virgin? Is that why you’re acting all scandalized that I brushed your leg a little?”

Kazuma reflected that the ideal answer to this question would either a dung-bomb to the mush, or a Curse of the Bat Bogey hex. “That was a lot more than just ‘brushing’ my leg.”

“So you _are_ a virgin,” Danvers interpreted.

“No!” Kazuma hissed. He thought he saw someone turn their head generally toward him and forced his face back to a neutral expression.

“No?” Danvers cocked a brow interestedly. “Who else have you been with? I want to know.”

Kaz ground his teeth. “Alright… so I _am_ a virgin. Happy now?”

“Really?” Vincent’s tone was mild and casual – almost passing for polite. “So you really _were_ about to faint just then.” Then at Kazuma’s dirty look, he added “It’s fine. I think it’s cute. Really.”

Kazuma gave a severely unhappy grunt, then pointedly started to review his notes. He recalled that it was more important to focus on the marble in the box than the one on his desk, and primed himself for another try.

“I could take it, you know,” Vincent said. The sudden low, silky purr was such an abrupt departure from the detached, conversational tone he’d been using before, it was as though Kazuma had never even heard him speak before. He shuddered and nearly knocked the marble off his desk as he swung his wand to no effect.

Vincent was a little closer to him now, giving the appearance of staring into Kazuma’s marble. “Your virginity, I mean. I’ve slept with guys and girls before, and I know all the best places in the castle to do it. If you wanted to try it any time before you’re out in the world, I can make sure you have a good first experience. And you’re seriously cute… It’d be an honor.”

Kazuma made the mistake of looking into Vincent’s eyes as he was saying all this. It reminded him of the old urban myth that snakes had the ability to hypnotize any bird who met their gaze, because he suddenly felt powerless to look away. Those turquoise eyes, always so cruel, so sardonic and superior, were suddenly warm and encompassing. Vincent’s voice was like velvet, and he felt for a moment as though he was already somewhere else with Vincent – somewhere warm, dark, and heavy pressing all around him. Part of his mind squirmed in elation, crying, _Yes! Yes! This is what you wanted! This is what you were hoping for! Accept! Do it with him!_

But the rational part of his mind was roaring with fury. _Don’t you dare listen to him, Kazuma Kent! This is the monster who tried to blackmail you! This twisted bigot is a villain, and you deserve better than him._

Then, another trail of thought appeared and seemed to laugh ironically. _DESERVE better! Well, aren’t we precious? Kazuma Kent, outsider at home, foreigner at school, deserves BETTER than the only boy who’s ever found him attractive. Who do you think you are?_

This final thought came so suddenly and so loudly into his head, it was as though someone had shouted it at him, and the trance was momentarily broken. He lurched to his feet with his eyes stinging. Voices stopped all around the room, but Kaz didn’t stop to give them time to stare. “Toilet… Professor… not well…” was all he managed to choke out as he half-ran, half-stumbled out of the classroom amid the pounding silence.

All the way to the lavatory, Kazuma internally berated himself for being melodramatic. _What must Flitwick and the others think of me storming out like that? What will Omar think – and after yesterday too? He and Leo are going to think you’ve cracked. Why couldn’t you have just stayed in your seat and born through it?_ His feet led him to his destination automatically. He threw open the door, passed into the echoing room, turned on the third tap from the furthest wall, and started to douse his face with cold water.

_What am I doing?_ The temptation to cry came upon him, but Kazuma mentally batted it aside. He needed to get back to Charms with a plausible explanation soon so he could do some damage control. When he met his reflection in the mirror, though, a fresh burst of depression hit him. He looked monstrous. His puffy, red eyes had dark bags underneath. His lips stuck out sharp pink against chalk-white skin, but his neck might have been affected by a rash for how blotchy red it looked. “At least they’ll believe that I was sick,” Kaz muttered at his reflection. “I’m ghastly…”

“ _You’re seriously cute… It’d be an honor_.” At the memory of those words, a modicum of color returned to Kazuma’s face. Yet at the same time, he felt his heart stretch painfully as he reminded himself that – whatever other facts or feelings might be present – Danvers had still stolen his divining board and was holding it ransom. Until he had that back, it was pointless to worry about anything else. _The divining board. The divining board. The-_

He tensed up at the creak of the bathroom door, then heard, “Hey, Kazzy. Everything okay in here?” _Speak of the devil._

He turned around in time to see the door swinging shut behind Vincent Danvers. His lips were pulled in a twisted, half-mocking smile. “Flitwick asked me to make sure you were alright. You know they’re already talking about you back there?”

Kaz offered a silent curse for Flitwick’s good intentions, then nodded without meeting the other boy’s eyes. “I’m fine… Just… It’s humid today, you know?”

“Uh-huh,” Danvers returned lazily. Then he started making toward the sink where Kazuma was standing. Almost by impulse, Kaz took a half-step backward and gripped the edge of the sink and stared fearfully at Danvers.

But Vincent’s twisted smile only stretched wider, and he put his hands up placatingly. “Easy there, Kazzy,” he said with traces of laughter in his voice. He continued moving toward Kaz, but slowly this time, careful not to startle him again. “I’m not going to hurt you or anything. No need to be so jumpy.”

The words made Kazuma feel slightly embarrassed, but then he reminded himself, _the board. We have to get the divining board. We have to get the divining board._ Still he said nothing out loud, and his eyes naturally moved to Danvers’ approaching feet.

Vincent kept coming closer, making an attempt to catch his eye. “Hey, what’s the matter? Were you… too flustered by what I said?” A fresh blush spread up Kazuma’s face, as this was somewhat close to the mark. “Are you afraid I’m gonna… do something to you?”

“Aren’t you?” Kaz said coldly.

Danvers stopped. Slowly, the grin uncurled, and his expression became one of slight dismay. “No… No, of course I’m not… Kaz, I wouldn’t.”

Kaz felt his stomach seize up at the gentle, wounded timbre of Vincent’s voice. But still, he kept his guard up. “What about in the library, then?”

Danvers winced as though stung. “I mean… Alright, so I was riled up and I wanted to get off… But I didn’t do anything _to you_ … I didn’t force you down and violate you.” Kaz rather thought there was room to argue on that score. “Kaz, I would never…”

Kazuma remained huddled back against the sink, but he didn’t run as Danvers finally close the remaining distance and rested a warm hand on his shoulder. In spite of his wariness, it felt… good to be touched by that strong, warm hand. “It was just so sudden,” Kaz said, affecting a conciliatory, forgiving tone without meeting the taller boy’s eyes. “I needed a moment alone to… think about it…” He felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as soon as the words were out of his mouth. For an instant, he hazarded a glance at Danvers’ eyes, saw a rising glow in them, and looked away. He anticipated what the Slytherin was about to say.

“Oh, I… see…” A pause. “And… have you thought about it?” Exactly what Kazuma had expected. He looked up again and saw, to his considerable distraction, that Vincent was biting his lip nervously. The bubbling excitement in his eyes was infectious, and Kaz felt a trace of the same hormonal heat that had gripped him back in Flitwick’s classroom.

“I… I don’t know…” Both sides of his inner self were screaming at him. His Yin was screaming that he should just go for it, and that he might never get another chance to sleep with a guy as hot as Danvers, and that, _oh my god, don’t you remember how big his cock was? Don’t you want to see and hold it again, Kazuma?_ Meanwhile his Yang was demanding that he should back out now. Perform the minimum requirement to get his divining board back, _Lie, if you have to!_ and then have nothing more to do with him so long as he lived.

“Are… Are you sure?” Vincent took another step closer, and Kaz was effectively pinned between his body and the sink. The ardent Slytherin, with his shining eyes and creamy voice, could not more obviously have been staring at Kazuma’s lips. “I would _really_ love to do it with you, ya know…” Kaz felt a wave of dizziness and Vince pushed his hips up against his shorter classmate’s and heard that seductive rumble against his ear.

“Y-yeah, I’ll bet,” Kazuma retorted, but his attempt as sarcasm came out drenched with obvious enjoyment. It was finally dawning on him that in his present state, there was no _way_ he could form plans, or take stances, or make any well-thought-out arguments about his rights and his dignity. Vincent had already won. He had Kaz eating out of the palm of his hand, and there was nothing to be done for it. He would just have to follow along, do as Vince said, and try to make a second attack when his head was cleared. Perhaps the boy would even be more tractable once he’d gotten what he wanted.

Goosebumps lifted on his skin and Vincent traced a thumb down the side of his neck. “You’ve everything that I love in a guy… Small and sweet… Pale and prone to blush…” He held one of Kazuma’s hands in his and whispered so tenderly into his ear. “I bet you would look _stunning_ lying naked and shivering in the glow of red firelight.”

Kazuma was melting like chocolate against the Slytherin boy’s strong frame. This scenario… the affection he felt… the words that unspeakably handsome Vincent Danvers was whispering _to him_ felt like something out of a book. It seemed impossibly wonderful that this fantasy was real, and that he was living in it. And _fuck!_ How was it possible that Vincent’s breath _always_ smelled so good like that? Did he chew on cloves and cinnamon between classes? “I… I’d like that,” he said weakly, not wanting to bruise the moment with his words.

“I know it would help you,” Vincent said, and Kaz squirmed blissfully when that big, weighty bulge started to rub suggestively against his crotch. Those confident hands started to stroke his hair lovingly. “Make things easier…”

Kaz’s breath was coming in shuddering gasps. He felt a kind of fire under his skin. He was _desperate_ for Danvers to kiss him now. “Make… make what easier?” Tentatively, he reached out to rest a hand on Vincent’s waist, feeling the hardness of muscle underneath plush school robes.

Vincent laid a kiss on Kaz’s neck, and Kazuma felt his cock give a mighty twitch in his trousers and felt the damp of pre soaking into his pants. Then Vince pulled his head back a little to fix Kaz with that captivating, sultry look. “Easier to realize that purebloods are best. That I can satisfy you like no one else can.”

_Oh._

For a moment there, Danvers’ crimes had all been so very comfortably blanketed over. Now, the snow had stopped falling, but they hadn’t all resurfaced just yet. Kazuma wrapped both his arms around Vincent’s broad back, trying to stay in the dream for just a little bit longer… just long enough to reach the conclusion. “Y-yeah… Definitely.”

Vince’s smile widened as he loomed over Kaz, supporting the back of his head and holding those broad, kissable lips within an inch of the Ravenclaw’s. “So how about it? Tonight, if you want. Come to me after dinner, and I’ll take you somewhere I can treat you like a prince… Make you fall in love with me.”

Those words, and that honeyed voice, were enough to get Kazuma’s heart fluttering again. Still, he had called back a small memory of his plan, and now seemed like an opportune moment to work things his way. “And… And afterwards…” He looked at Vince with dream-fogged eyes, then made his voice small, innocent, and as submissive as he currently felt. “Maybe you could… let me have my divining board?”

Kaz watched as Vince’s face slowly, ever so slowly like a wilting flower, crumpled and fell into a look of profound regret or disappointment. “Ohhh, Kazzy,” Vincent said mournfully. “I really wish you hadn’t said that…”

A cocktail of panic, disappointment, frustration, and self-reproach all attacked Kazuma at once. He felt suddenly short of breath, as if on the verge of hysteria. “What? Why? What did I say?”

But Danvers was leaking back, shaking his head regretfully. “Oh Kaz… The funny thing is, I _was_ going to give you your divining board back afterward. I really wanted to.”

Cold, inexorable dread started to sap away all of the warmth that he’d felt a minute… No, mere _seconds_ ago. Already it felt like it had all happened yesterday. A week ago. A _month_ ago. To somebody else. “What? But…”

“But I _can’t_ give it to you now,” Danvers said with an air of paternal admonishment. “It had to be earned… You had to show me that you deserved it. That you’d really changed. That you loved your own kind and would never betray them.”

“No… No wait, I…” Kaz sputtered and wrung his fingers, clinging to the shadow of the divining board he had almost earned back and trying to understand where he’d gone wrong. “I don’t understand… Please, Vince… Can’t…”

Danvers sighed and began to rub Kazuma’s cheek pityingly. “See, Kaz… If you’d had sex with me, and I saw that you loved it and that you were still eager for more, it would have been enough. I’d know that had seen the light, and that I could expect you back to drop to your knees for me again and worship my pure dick.”

“I will!” Kaz pleaded. “I am! I do! I…” He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say – just that he wanted his master’s divining board back, and it seemed to be slipping through his fingers.

“But Kaz… that would just be… a _transaction._ ”

Kazuma stopped spluttering and simply stared, eyes and mouth open. “What?”

Danvers sighed and renewed his pitying stare. Then with fatherly patience, he began to explain, “Kaz… If you’re sleeping with me _to get your board back_ , then you aren’t really converted, are you? You’re just using sex to get something you want. You’re no better than any common slut, in that case. I won’t be able to trust you. I have to know that it’s _me_ that you really want. You have to want to suck my dick because you know it’s the best – not because it stands between you and something that you want.”

Then after a moment, he offered Kazuma a soft, consoling smile. “But it’s okay, Kaz. I’m still willing to show you a good time, and you _will_ get your board back eventually. It’ll just have to be… something else. Once you’ve proven your loyalty to your race. Okay?”

Kazuma stood impassive and barely felt the hand stroking his cheek. By now, Danvers’ spell was thoroughly broken. His erection was utterly dead. The pre that had soaked into his crotch now felt clammy and disgusting, and his body felt tainted wherever Vincent’s fingers had traveled. A terrible, resentful, boiling rage welled up in his belly, and his Yang was crushing the Yin into dust as he addressed himself to his classmate.

“Bollocks.”

Vincent Danvers’ hand went still. “Come again?” he asked, his voice curiously blank.

Kazuma caught the warning and felt a shiver run through him. He tried to pull away from Vincent’s hand, but the boy wouldn’t let go of him. To compromise, he simply avoided Danvers’ gaze and pressed forward at a loud mutter. “Blood status. The very notion is… just nonsense. My teacher in Japan was willing to take any student who showed an aptitude.. and I’ve known great first-generation witches and wizards.” At last, he met Danvers’ eyes and said stridently. “What’s more… a pure-blood’s complacence will _always_ lose out to the diligence and commitment of a muggle-born.”

Even as he was saying the last word, he saw a spark of anger in Vincent’s turquoise eyes. In a flash, his hand left Kazuma’s cheek and came to rest on his throat – not squeezing him with any pressure, but with thumb resting right on the pressure point. Kaz felt the bottom drop out of his belly.

“Apologize,” Danvers whispered threateningly.

Kaz cringed at the tone, but at the same time he felt resentment roiling within him. How dare Danvers demand an apology for his sense of right! He broke eye-contact again. His legs were shaking fearfully, but he said, “It’s the truth… I can apologize, but that won’t make it any less true. I just wish you were able to accept it.”

The bathroom seemed eerily quiet for a long few seconds. It was broken only by Danvers’ deep, unsteady breaths. The fingers around his throat still didn’t squeeze, but they felt unsettlingly rigid against his skin.

Then, all at once, Danvers’ entire demeanor changed as though shrugging off a heavy coat. “Right then,” he said neutrally. He released Kazuma’s throat and took a step back, eyes glassy with boredom. “I guess that’s that.”

Kaz looked up at his classmate, feeling his belly tighten in apprehension. “O… okay…”

“You’ll be wanting your board back now, I expect?” Vincent said it very simply, as though they were transacting a business deal.

Kaz felt his heart racing. It _was_ what he wanted, but this was amazingly abrupt. It felt unnatural. “Well… yes…” he said tentatively. 

Danvers sighed disinterestedly. “Alright… Well then, I suppose that when we meet in the library for our usual tutoring session, I’ll bring it back to you… Well, the first piece anyhow.”

Kazuma’s whole body went rigid. “What?”

Danvers continued to drone on matter-of-factly. “Well obviously it wouldn’t be practical to give you the _whole thing_ at once. It’ll have to be returned in installments. I’m thinking… one fifth every three weeks until the end of term?” Kazuma stumbled back and gripped the edge of the sink for support. His mouth hung open, quivering, but there were no words to express his horror. “Of course… I _am_ keeping the board in the same drawer as my Chaotic Matter Potion, and there’s always the risk of cross-contamination. No guarantee that you’d be able put it back together afterwards. _Repairo_ doesn’t work on items that have been-”

“No! Don’t you dare!” Kazuma meant to shout, but it came out like a wheeze. His breathing was unsteady and all his hairs stood on end.

The last word had been a mistake. Danvers’ lip curled back in a snarl, and Kaz withered under the boy’s acid disdain. “Dare? Don’t I _‘dare’_?” Who the fuck do you think you are, Kent? You think you can talk back to _me_ like that? I ought to turn that useless plank into wood shavings just teach you your place.”

“No!” Kazuma cowered back, practically sitting on the edge of the sink as he hunched himself double. “Please don’t! It belongs to someone – I can’t lose it!”

“Then apologize,” Danvers growled haughtily.

“I’m sorry!” Kaz had the words out before Danvers had finished speaking. His whole body was shaking, and he felt drool fall onto his chin as he dropped to his knees and clutched at the Slytherin’s robes. “I’m so, so sorry! I take it back – I shouldn’t have said it. Please forgive me…”

But Danvers’ turquoise eyes were as cold as he’d ever seen them. “I dunno, Kent… It won’t do to have you cheeking off to me like that… I think you need to be punished.”

Kaz was too frightened and desperate to care about crying in front of Danvers. He sobbed wretchedly and clung to his garments like a lifeline. “Please…. F-f-forgive me… don’t hurt it… please forgive me…”

Vincent sneered. “You call that an apology? Here.” In a quick, unshowy movement, Danvers unbuttoned his fly and pulled it down to let his weighty, semi-flaccid prick flop out. “Show me just how sorry you are, and _maybe_ I’ll forgive you.”

Kazuma didn’t waste much time. Truthfully, he had half been expecting this, or something like it. Danvers could just as easily have demanded his ass, and he’d have had no choice but to give it. If it had to be something, Kaz thought, at least this wasn’t the worst. He took one look at Vincent’s dick, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slid-

He was stopped by a hand against his forehead. “Wow,” Danvers said, and there was suddenly not a trace of anger in his voice. “No hesitation… _Damn,_ that’s sexy…”

Kazuma opened his eyes, and surprise had momentarily put an end to his sobs. Danvers was looking down at him with a big, gloating smile – holding his head back with a hand on the forehead. All trace of ire had disappeared. “Wha…”

Danvers started to laugh, and then he roughly tousled Kazuma’s hair as he slipped his dick back into his trousers. “Kaz, didn’t I tell you? I’m not gonna _force_ you to have sex with me. I’m not a monster! I just wanted to know if you _would do it!_ ” And he laughed as the blush turned Kazuma’s face beat red. He was so angry and so humiliated, but didn’t dare jeopardize his master’s board again by saying so. 

“I… I am… sorry,” Kazuma said weakly, just be absolutely safe.

But Danvers didn’t seem the least bit upset anymore. He just kept rubbing Kaz’s head where he knelt on the floor. “Oh, don’t even worry about it, Kazzy. It’s cute. Really.” There was an odd catch in the tone that kept Kaz on edge. Then, Danvers stuck his thumb past Kazuma’s mouth, stretched his cheeks out of the way on one side, and said with a wicked sneer, “I think it’s just _adorable_ how you actually think you have teeth.” And he laughed, tracing his thumb mockingly over Kazuma’s back teeth – Kazuma who didn’t dare fight back now. “You’re just like a little puppy, growling because he thinks he _sooooo_ fierce.” While he continued to hold Kaz’s teeth exposed with one hand, Danvers used his other hand to stroke the Ravenclaw boy’s ears exactly as one would for an affectionate hound. “But you’re just my _sweet widdle Kazzy_ ,” he carried on, kneeling down and adopting the sort of baby talk people use when speaking to dogs as he started to stroke Kazuma with both hands. “Oooh, I just wanna put you on a leash and take you for walkies.”

It was the most humiliating thing Kazuma had ever experienced. The dregs of anger, lust, fear, and despair were still clinging to him like filth, and now he was being coated in humiliation thick enough to drown in. His hands shook, he burned from chest to ears, and fresh tears oozed down his face in thick globs.

Finally, Danvers seemed to have mercy on him. He brushed one of the tears away and gave Kaz a kiss on the brow. “No more of that, now. You’ve learned your lesson. I forgive you.” He got to his feet and started straightening his robes. Kazuma couldn’t help but notice that Vincent had gotten hard again since he started talking to Kaz like a dog, and it took some adjusting to make the bulge appear discreet. “Right then. You skive off the rest of the period and go back to your dorm. I’ll cover for you. I’ll say I helped you up the first few stairs, then let you make it the rest of the way to the infirmary on your own. That way I can’t be blamed if they find out you were never there. Got that?” There was only one answer to that question.

Kazuma nodded mutely.

“Good.” He gave me one last scratch behind the ear, as though not quite tired of the joke. “Oh yeah, and… you remember that handkerchief I gave you?” I nodded. “Good. Bring it with you to the library. There’s something I wanna try. See you soon. Don’t be late!”

Then he was gone. For a while, Kaz simply stood in the echoing silence of the lavatory, staring at the floor while tears continued to fall. The last thing he wanted to do just then was move, but if he stayed here much longer, somebody would find him. He finally wiped his face, then returned to Ravenclaw Tower by a route that circumvented the Charms classroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Editing this took longer than I thought, but it was worth it. This was an important chapter, so I wanted it to be clean and polished the first time.
> 
> On a sidenote, this was actually kind of a second draft, at least of the final scene. Originally, Kaz was a lot more strident in the way he spoke to Vincent. He said that blood status was "bullshit," and called Danvers a git when told to apologize. This was very satisfying, of course, but my spouse pointed out that it seemed a little out of Kaz's character. After a second look, I had to agree. 
> 
> Interestingly, my spouse didn't care much for this chapter. They said that Vincent's cruelty at the end hit a little too close to home, and that "If Danvers breaks his divining board, I'm not reading anymore." 
> 
> Sorry if I'm rambling too much, but I have to reflect on my progress somewhere XD


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Perhaps Kaz isn't as alone as he thought. Omar has picked up enough to see that Kaz is being targeted, and he shares what he knows about Danvers' background._
> 
> _It's a little late in the game for warnings, but will it be enough?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short, but I thought my readers might enjoy a palate cleanser after the last chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The lunch bell rang just as Kaz was entering the common room, but it would have looked too suspicious to go to the Great Hall immediately after he'd supposedly come down with a stomach flu. So instead, Kaz spent lunch in the sixth years’ dormitory, lying morosely on his bed and absently stroking Catsanova, who had lain down beside him and was purring blissfully. His mind was fixated on Vincent’s disappointed expression. “ _Ohhh, Kazzy… I really wish you hadn’t said that._ ”

Danvers hadn’t _really_ planned to give it back at all. Kazuma felt sure of that in hindsight. At most, Danvers had perhaps been toying with the idea of giving it back, but he wouldn’t have done it. The glee in his eyes as Kaz had knelt down to suck his cock was proof of that. Vincent loved the power he wielded over his classmate, and he would hold onto it until he either grew tired of the game or decided that it made no difference. And Kaz had just proven how slavishly he was willing to follow along.

For a moment, Kazuma allowed himself to wonder if giving up the divining board was worth the sacrifice. After all, if Danvers’ destroyed the board, whatever lingering attraction Kaz still held for him would be burned along with it. Part of his mind tried to urge that this was the smartest course. It would free him. But inevitably he recalled, _It’s not mine to surrender. Master lent it to me, and I must give it back to him when I graduate. I swore that I would treasure and protect it more than anything else I owned._

Another of Vincent’s speeches came to him: “ _Not very smart of you to lug something so obviously valuable around where it could be stolen._ ” It seemed that Danvers was right about that, if nothing else.

The bell rang. Kaz knew that he would be expected in Divination soon, but he didn’t move. Going up to Trelawney’s class would only remind him of his plight, and he didn’t think he could keep his composure under her large-eyed scrutiny. What’s more, he thought he had a fair idea what lay in his future without any oracular help just then. Besides, he was top 2 in her class. He could afford to skive off one lesson.

As the following hour drew to a close and Catsanova dropped into a contented snooze, Kaz got up to retrieved the green handkerchief from his trunk. The sight of it was enough to send a fresh wave of squirming fear through his belly. Perhaps out of morbid curiosity, Kaz took a hasty sniff at the green silk and immediately jerked his head back. It wasn’t _gross_ , exactly, but the scent of Danvers’ seed was still pungent upon it and brought back unpleasant memories. He held his breath while he stuffed it into the inner pocket of his robe. Then got up and crossed to the door.

Just as he reached out his hand for the brass doorknob, the door swung open to reveal Omar on the other side. Both of them jumped slightly, then Omar gave a hasty, “Sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you. How are you feeling?” Then, when Kazuma’s mouth moved in dumbfounded non-syllables for a few seconds, he clarified, “You never made it back to Charms. That’s the second time since yesterday that you haven’t been well.”

Kazuma felt a hot embarrassment in his chest that never made it as far as his neck. “Sorry… I just… had a stomach-bug or something. Or it might have been the humidity. Just wasn’t feeling well.” Then, side-stepping the guilt from lying to his friend yet again, he added, “Hey, don’t you have a seventh-period? What happened to that?”

Omar shook his head. “No Arithmancy on Fridays. Anyway… If your stomach’s still bothering you, then I take it you won’t want any of my sister’s coffee?” 

Now, the blush did reach Kaz’s cheeks. He had entirely forgotten about the coffee. “Oh god, I’m so sorry, Omar… But I wouldn’t have been able to anyway; I have another tutoring session with Danvers in the library.”

“What?” Omar’s dark eyebrows creased together over the rims of his glasses. “You’re _still_ going to that, even though you aren’t feeling well?”

Kaz avoided his roommate’s eyes. “Well… I’d already promised that I’d…” He licked his dry lips. “But… but I _am_ starting to feel better now. I’m sure that after dinner I’d be able to try the Turkish coffee with you.”

“Uh-huh…” Kaz risked a glance at his friend’s face and suddenly went still. Omar Khoury’s dark, almost-black brown eyes didn’t quite have the captivating quality of Danvers’ turquoise ones, but at times his gaze seemed preternaturally shrewd. Kazuma half expected that Omar could have guessed what was inside Flitwick’s box even without the scrying spell, and he was giving Kaz that calculating stare now.

At length, Omar stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “Kaz… What’s going on between you and Danvers?”

Kazuma started. “Nothing.” Omar gave him a stern, ‘do-you-think-I’m-stupid?’ sort of look. “Really,” Kaz insisted, adopting an air of defensive nonchalance. “I’m helping Vincent with Transfiguration, and he’s helping me out with Charms.” Then, when the look held he added, “Also, he’s giving me a dozen sickles a week because… his Transfiguration is worse than my Charms. So… you know… I want to take it seriously.”

The silence endured for so long that Kazuma thought Omar might let the matter go. Then, the dark-eyed boy pointed to Kaz’s bed. “Take a seat.”

Kaz looked nervously at the door. “I really need to be…”

“I’ll make this quick,” Omar assured. “But I need to tell you this right now. It’s important.”

Kaz weighed the choice quickly. He wasn’t especially eager to be stuck with Danvers again… and if he avoided Omar now, his roommate was sure to get even more suspicious, and he might share those suspicions with Leo, who could not be trusted to keep his mouth shut. So he took a seat on his bed, and Omar sat down on the bed facing him.

Catsanova had woken up during their conversation and now jumped over to curl up in his owner’s lap. Omar stroked the scraggly feline while he gathered his thoughts. “You know how my parents moved here from the United Arab Emirates when I was seven and opened up a wizarding supply store in Aberdeen?”

Kazuma nodded. The fact that he and Omar had both been brought up abroad was where they’d first found common ground, and it was part of what made them such good friends.

“But I don’t think I ever told you what they were doing before they moved here… how my father got the funds to open up his own store in a foreign country.” Kaz frowned and shook his head. Omar glanced discreetly at the closed and silent door to their dormitory, then met his eyes firmly and said, “My father was part of a flying-carpet smuggling ring.”

“Oh…” Kazuma sat up a little straighter to show that he was paying attention. He didn’t see the connection yet, but Omar must have a good reason for confiding such an important secret from him after five years.

Omar was leaning forward just slightly, still keeping his voice very low and confidential. “The market was never large, but the payouts from each job were spectacular. You can’t carry them into the British isles by Apparition, you see, and there are wards to alert the ministry if somebody crosses the border while flying one.”

“Not to mention that they’re easier to spot,” Kaz contributed.

Omar nodded and proceeded hurriedly. “So they’re usually come into the country transfigured into something else. A controlled substance which would still be detected on entry, but for which my father carried a license. Devil’s Snare, for instance. The detection spells don’t say specifically _what_ contraband or controlled substance is entering the country, so the inspectors usually just give it a glance, stamp his license, and send him along. As a failsafe, they always carried a bottle of Chaotic Matter Potion on hand, so that if the inspectors decide to submit the merch for extra screening, they can cover their tracks.” Kazuma felt a jolt of surprise at the mention of the Chaotic Matter Potion, but he was careful not to show it on his face.

“I bring all this up…” Here, Omar’s voice dropped even lower still. “Because my father _knew_ Nero Danvers.”

Kazuma drew in a sharp breath. “Vincent’s father? He brewed the potion?”

Omar nodded. “Dad said that his were especially acting. One drop would remove an object’s memory faster than you could swing your wand. But his _real_ talent was the Imperius Curse.”

A sudden chill ran down Kazuma’s spine. It was a moment before he was able to throw the ball back. “Did he… use it on the inspectors or something?”

“Sometimes,” Omar said dismissively. “Only as an added failsafe if things got desperate. Usually, though, it was to acquire intermediaries. Wizards and witches to send the real product on to its final destination without drawing suspicion. The thing is that…” He frowned for a moment. “How much do you know about the theory behind unforgivable curses?”

“Uh…”

Omar waved the question aside. “The point is that they’re not just illegal, they’re _difficult_. Every wizard feels the temptation to use the Imperius Curse at some point in their lives, because it _is_ lucrative, and the incantation is so simple, but usually they either fall flat, or the effect is so clumsy and obvious that they lose their nerve. They break the spell and try to pass it off as a _confundus_ charm. But Nero…” He grimaced. “He was _good_ at it. His curses were so subtle that, if you’d never seen him do it before, you’d think the spell had failed. But they never did. Even a few aurors _who’d been expecting it_ fell under the curse and never knew what hit them. Once, Dad said that for all he knew, some of the wizards Danvers cursed might still be under his control today.”

Kaz didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until he felt his chest shuddering with a gasp. He was gripping his sheets with white knuckles. A long moment of silence stretched between them. “Do… do you mean… you think that Vincent is going to try and Imperius me?”

Omar gave his head a firm shake. “I’m saying that you need to _be careful_ around that one. I’ve never met Nero Danvers, so I can’t say how much of his father Danvers junior has inherited. But controlling somebody with that kind of subtlety, leaving their personality intact…” He stopped and gave a shudder of his own. “It’s _twisted_. You have to really understand someone before you can have that level of control over them. You have to be naturally empathic, and at the same time _enjoy_ hurting people. If he has that sort of personality… Kaz, a person like that doesn’t _need_ magic to manipulate people!” Kazuma felt goosebumps lifting on his arms and neck. This was all too close to the mark.

Omar readjusted his seat and ran a hand down the length of his cat’s body. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Leo last night, but that’s the real reason why I was suspicious of him. I’ve steered clear of him ever since my father told me that story, and I never thought he seemed especially trustworthy to begin with. And now, after five years seemingly unaware that you exist, he’s suddenly asking you for tutoring, checking up on you at meals, and sitting beside you in class? Why you? Why now? I don’t like it.”

He shook his head, then met Kazuma’s eyes shrewdly. “I don’t like to meddle in other people’s affairs, but you’re my best mate, Kaz. You might not want to tell me what’s going on between you and Danvers, but you better believe I’ll be keeping an eye out. And if you take my advice, I think you should see yourself rid of him as soon as possible.”

Kaz worked his jaw a little, then swallowed hard. Bitterly, he wished that Omar had told him all of this two days ago so that he’d have known not to follow Danvers to the library in the first place. Now seemed _far_ too late to do anything. Yet at the same time, to know that he had one person on his side who was… if not privy to his plight, then at least _aware_ of it, was a great comfort. He smiled wanly. “Thanks, Omar. You… you really don’t know how much that means to me.”

Omar nodded. He took a glance at his watch. “Well… I know I said I was going to be quick, but that turned out longer than I was expecting. Are you still going to the library?”

Kaz looked at his own watch, then bolted to his feet. Vince was expecting him in just over a minute. “I… yeah… I am…” Then he set his jaw and met Omar’s stare. “But if possible, I’m gonna try to get out of this tonight. I’ve been… having reservations about him too.”

Omar nodded, and Kaz saw a hint of a smile on his thin lips. It was so easy to forget that Omar was a prefect. He had a great dislike for involving himself in the affairs of others, and so far he had yet to assign even a single detention. Not entirely for lack of provocation, either. In moments like this, however, Kaz thought he could see why Omar had been given the badge. “I’ll see you at dinner, then. Try to skip out tonight, and I’ll track you down before they start on the pudding.”

Warm affection glowed in Kazuma’s chest as he made his way to the door. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My spouse's reaction to this chapter was, "I really want Kaz and Omar to get together!" What an adorable idea ^^ 
> 
> In any case, I know for certain what I'm going to do for Chapter 7, but everything after that is a little fuzzy. I'd thought of extending the storyline across Kaz's 6th and 7th years, but I really don't see how that can be managed at this point. It might be best to just start moving things to a close. 
> 
> ..... On one final note, I used _Eagle_ in the title because the symbol of Ravenclaw House is an eagle in the books. However, people kind of know the movies better, and the Raven is more intuitive anyhow. Arguably, it also suits Kaz's character better. Do you think the title should be _The Raven Transfixed by a Serpent_ instead? Let me know in the comments.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kazuma has to meet Danvers once again for "charms tutoring." Omar has warned Kaz in no uncertain terms to be on his guard, but how is he to hold his own against such an expert master of seduction?

Kaz tore down the Grand Staircase at a sprint, hoping to god that Danvers wouldn’t penalize him for being late. The rain had finally come to a stop and the humidity was receding, but that didn’t stop his school robes from clinging to him in uncomfortable places. He felt a potent temptation to check his watch, but that would just slow him down.

Kazuma turned on the third floor and made a dash toward the library doors at the end of the corridor. As he came around a display cabinet, he only just glimpsed the looming figure of Vincent Danvers out of the corner of his eye before the Slytherin boy reached out a hand and caught him by the strap of his bag.

“Running a little late, Kazzy?” Danvers said dryly as he fixed Kaz with a shifty smirk.

Kazuma took a few gulps of air before replying. Absentmindedly, he rubbed at his shoulder where the strap had dug into his flesh. “I was… held up… One of my prefects…”

But Danvers waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I haven’t been waiting long. And anyway, I wanted to catch you before we got started. Change of plans. We’re not meeting in the library today.”

With his latest humiliation still fresh in Kaz’s memory, this wasn’t entirely reassuring. “Where…” He panted. “Where are we going, then?”

In reply, Danvers cocked his head and led Kazuma down the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor. Kazuma caught a snatch of Professor Lupin’s lecture on red caps as they walked by his classroom. At the end there stood a large portrait of Friar Ingles the Lesser industriously fitting crossbow bolts with silver tips.

Kaz thought for a moment that Danvers was about to address a password to Friar Ingles, but instead he turned to face the wall on their right. In the faint, carved molding along the stone, there was an image of a sleeping manticore with its spiny tail all curled up behind it. Vincent pulled out his wand and gave the manticore a rather rude prod in the hindquarters. The beast twitched its snout in irritation. Without waking up, its long tail uncoiled, swung about to the other side of its body, and curled up just as it had been before. A handle emerged out of the spot on the wall where the flailed tail had previously been resting.

Vincent looked over his shoulder with a smirk before dragging the door open with both hands. “After you, cutie.”

Kaz hesitated. Omar’s warning and his own common sense both urged him against entering an unfamiliar secret room where Danvers would have him all alone. Unfortunately, he’d already tested Vincent’s patience once today, so he couldn’t afford to argue the point. He walked through the stone archway, then sighed with relief as a chill draft blew across his stifled body.

He cast his gaze around the room and was startled to find it prepared for their arrival. It was a disused classroom, fully equipped with a score of student desks. More strikingly, the large, oaken teacher’s desk at the front was laden with two ornate wooden boxes, a plate of tea cakes, a sugar bowl, a terra cotta milk jug, an assortment of chocolate from Honeydukes, and a bowl of fresh fruit. A few potted plants were placed in the sunnier corners of the classroom. In front of the grate at the teacher’s end of the room, a thick rug had been set down before a plush-looking settee, and a dozen or so pine logs were stacked ready for the fire.

What caught Kazuma’s attention most, however, was the little house elf at the very back of the room. It wore a checkered tablecloth like a toga, and its enormous ears drooped limply past his shoulders like those of a basset hound. The elf had its back to the door as Kaz walked in, as it was busy placing a large, steaming kettle upon a lace doily atop a low filing cabinet. Then it reached up to straighten a few boxes, standing on tip toe and nearly perching its thin nose on the cabinet’s handle.

Danvers seemed totally unsurprised by the elf’s presence as he pulled the heavy door shut behind them. He glanced first at Kaz, then at the house elf on whom the Ravenclaw’s attention was fixed.

“Ah,” Danvers said. “Shall I introduce you?” Without waiting for a reply, he took a step forward, bellowed “SELKLY!” and smacked the flat of his hand twice against the top of the nearest desk.

Kazuma jumped back and cringed at the sudden outburst, but the house elf only twitched one of its great floppy ears and began to look around perplexedly. As its large, yellow eyes settled Vincent Danvers, its face lit up immediately. The elf turned to face the boys and gave Vincent a low, sweeping bow. “Master Vincent! Everything is as the young master requested. Selkly has even brought the Canterbury apples of which Master is so fond.” As he spoke in an enthusiastic, but rather cracked and raspy voice, the elf made a number of little gestures with his tiny hands. At first, Kaz thought it might have been fidgeting, but the motions were too wild and too regular.

Danvers made similar gestures as he replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the house elf, and Kaz realized that the two were signing to each other. “Everything looks precisely as I wished. Well done, Selkly.” He threw a quick smile at Kazuma, then said aloud as he signed, “The one with the sweet face is my new friend, Kazuma Kent.”

“My deepest pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kent sir,” Selkly said, still signing but speaking more slowly and clearly to make sure he was understood. Then he offered a low bow to Kaz.

With more than a decade of life in Japan graven into his instincts, Kazuma promptly returned the house elf’s bow before he could stop to consider. “A pleasure to meet you, Selkly.”

As he straightened back up, he saw the house elf blushing deep scarlet. His wrinkled mouth worked in quiet amazement. Then, in a startled cough, Selkly sputtered, “Kent Sir is truly too kind,” and he bowed so low that his droopy ears dragged against the floor.

This time, Kazuma took care not to bow again. He glanced hesitantly at Vincent, who was covering his mouth to keep from laughing. “Uh… right…” Kaz muttered, certainly too quietly for the house elf to hear him.

“Will young Master Danvers be requiring anything else of his Selkly?” the elf asked with an obsequious smile.

“You’ve done very well, Selkly,” Vincent signed. “Just one more thing,” and he held up a finger as he reached into a pocket of his robe and produced a sheaf of orange construction paper, folded over once.

Kazuma caught a glimpse at the inside fold of the paper and saw that there was nothing written on it. It was just an ordinary piece of paper. Despite this, Selkly’s eyes went wide with delight, and he performed an agile skip in his excitement as he accepted the sheaf from his master. “It is exactly what Selkly was looking for! A thousand thanks, Master mine.” He couldn’t sign while holding the construction paper, but he bowed again and again like a drinking bird toy to ensure that his meaning was not missed.

He was still bowing when Vincent, grinning at the elf’s enthusiasm, bid him good evening. His servant then disappeared with a pop. Vince sighed, shaking his head. “Selkly has artistic leanings, you see. Collages, origami, quilt work… I suppose that as his hearing gets worse, he wants to put his sight to good use.”

Kaz listened, but he was frowning contemplatively at the handsome Slytherin as though unsure that he recognized him. “You… talk very gently to your servants.”

Danvers blinked and looked at Kazuma with a hint of surprise. “Is… that a bad thing?”

“No,” Kaz said a little distantly. “It’s just not what I’ve come to expect from… English wizards.”

Kaz felt his heart pound fearfully under the taller boy’s shrewd gaze. If Vincent had noticed Kazuma’s near misstep, however, he chose to overlook it. Danvers shrugged and said, “Selkly has always been impeccably faithful to our family. I could count on one hand the number of times he’s ever failed to deliver. He deserves some gratitude in his old age.”

Kaz didn’t answer. This fact didn’t fit very comfortably into his picture of Vincent Danvers. It certainly didn’t seem like the portrait of Nero Danvers that Omar had painted: _You have to really understand someone before you can have that level of control over them. You have to be naturally empathic, and at the same time_ enjoy _hurting people._

“Oh, before I forget!” Vincent said with sudden animation. He set his bag down on one of the desks and withdrew the same wooden pencil he’d been trying to transfigure the day before. With a quick flick of his wand, it turned at once into a yellow-green gecko with a black spot on the tip of its snout. It shivered from nose to tail, then took off at a run and crawled onto the underside of the desk to hide.

Already thrown off his guard by the meeting with Selkly, Kaz couldn’t help but feel a drop of enthusiasm. “You managed it!” he congratulated.

Danvers grinned proudly. “Of course! I had an excellent tutor.”

Kaz felt his heart give an impassioned thump, and he looked away quickly. “More likely, you just practiced overnight.” He couldn’t keep the smile off his lips, though.

“Perhaps,” Vincent shrugged. “But if I did it to impress you, doesn’t that amount to the same thing?” When Kaz didn’t immediately answer, he stepped close as though to try and catch a mumbled response. “Well?”

Kaz adamantly refused to meet his eyes, recalling Omar’s warning. Even so, he could almost feel the heat radiating from Danvers’ tall body. “I… I guess so.”

“Tch…” Danvers sounded faintly amused. He brushed a hand casually against Kaz’s hip as he turned the smaller boy toward the other end of the classroom. “C’mon then. I need to help you work on your Scrying Charm.”

From just that little touch of his hip, Kazuma had felt sure that Vincent was about to kiss him. “Scrying Charm?” This time, he did meet Vincent’s eye. Danvers appeared mildly bemused.

“Yes… I did say I’d be tutoring you in Charms today, didn’t I?”

Kazuma’s face started to feel a little hot. It didn’t help that Danvers was so nonchalant. If this was playing innocent, then it was a _very_ good act. “Yes, but… I thought… I sort of thought…”

“What?” Vincent turned around and leaned in until there was only half a foot between his face and Kazuma’s. “You thought I was going to molest you the instant I had you alone?”

“No!” Kaz retorted, a little too quickly. Trying to cover his embarrassment, he pointed to the teapot on the filing cabinet. “I just… noticed the tea and…”

Vince glanced at the teapot. “Yeah. I like to have a snack while I study. Keeps my mind distracted by one thing at a time.”

“O-… oh…” Kaz thought this sounded like total nonsense, but he prudently kept that opinion to himself.

“Anyhow. I’ve got something especially for you here.” Again, Danvers brushed his fingers against the small of Kaz’s back to steer him toward the desk and filing cabinet. Aside from the steaming kettle, there were two sets of porcelain crockery – one patterned with green and the other with blue, a glass teapot, a tin canister, and a black box the size of a jewelry case.

To Kazuma’s surprise, the black case was engraved with Japanese kanji in pure white ink. He’s been only 12 when he left Japan, and nearly half of the characters were unfamiliar to him. However the word ‘matcha,’ carved in flowing hiragana, was plain enough. He also recognized the name of the province and temple from which the tea was derived, and a phrase he thought meant, ‘hand-crafted utensils.’

“I wasn’t sure if they’d allow a house elf into the store to buy this,” Danvers said. “But Selkly says they didn’t give him any trouble.” He lifted the lid. Inside, everything required to make powdered green tea the traditional way was there: bowl, a whisk, red silk napkin, tea scoop, an immaculate bamboo cylinder – and all of them sitting in their respect silk-lined cushions within the box.

“What’s all this for?” Kazuma asked, breathless.

Danvers raised his eyebrows. “What do you think it’s for? You of all people should know…”

Kaz shook his head. “I mean, I _know_ it’s green tea, but… why?”

Vincent gave a little scoff and grinned ruefully. “Because you’re cute, and I thought you’d appreciate a little taste of home.”

Kaz didn’t have a reply to that. After some quick mental arithmetic, he guessed that if Danvers were to follow through on his 12-sickles a week for tutoring until the end of term, it might _just_ amount to the cost of this tea set. It was staggering to think that Vincent had that much pocket money just lying about to spend on a whim.

In the end, he simply let out a gentle, “Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Kazzy.” Danvers gave a winning smile, then pulled the glass tea pot and the tin canister aside. “Why don’t you get started, then?” Danvers filled the tea pot and scooped a heap of tea leaves into the diffuser, then sat down in the teacher’s leather arm chair to let it brew.

Kazuma pulled one of the wooden students’ chairs up to the desk to sit while he mixed himself a fairly thin bowl of matcha. Unfortunately, he was unable to evoke the true serenity of a proper tea ceremony – what with Danvers’ disarming stream of questions during the process. ‘Why do you wipe the stick first? Isn’t it already clean?’ ‘Why is the scoop so thin, anyway?’ ‘Oh, so you actually have to _whisk_ the tea. I never knew that.’ ‘Wait, so you drink it straight out of the bowl? I thought the bowl was just for mixing the tea. That’s why I got you and extra set of crockery.’

And inevitably, after Kazuma had taken a few delicate sips Danvers asked, “Is it good?”

“Yes!” Kaz said brightly.

His acting must have been a little wooden, because Danvers’ lips pulled into a frown. “Are you sure?”

Kaz nodded quickly. “This is definitely high grade matcha. I could never have afforded this back home.”

“But you don’t sound like you’re enjoying it… does it need anything?” Danvers pointed to the milk jug and sugar bowl on the filing cabinet.

It seemed that there was no dodging the issue. Still leery of arousing Danvers’ temper, Kazuma offered an apologetic grimace and confessed meekly, “Actually… If you must know, I don’t really like green tea. I just didn’t want to seem ungrateful.”

Danvers raised his eyebrows. “I thought you lived in Japan.”

“I did,” Kaz simpered, lowering his head submissively. “But I was never able to acquire a taste for it. I was rather unpopular for it… I’m sorry.”

Danvers’ turquoise eyes showed a trace of flinty displeasure. Kaz didn’t bother to keep his fear of rebuke out of his expression. Then after a few seconds, Vincent stuck his tongue in his cheek and looked thoughtfully at the pot brewing on the desk. “Do you care for oolong at all?”

Kaz lifted his head eagerly. “Yes! It’s one of my favorite!”

Vince smiled. “Good. You can share mine, then. The second cup comes in handy after all.” Kaz set his _chawan_ aside, and Vincent poured a cup of oolong tea for each of them.

A minute passed in relative silence while they sipped their tea and nibbled at a few of the cakes. Kaz was still tense, but this felt… almost normal, compared to any of their previous meetings. The only thing spoiling it was the chill in the room. The breeze had been pleasant when he first arrived, still hot and sweaty from his sprint down the staircase, but now the constant wind had turned his sweat cold and was making him shiver.

“Would it be alright if I shut the windows?” Kazuma asked.

“They are,” Danvers said simply and took another sip.

Kazuma looked up. Sure enough, all the cloudy glass windows were shut. So was the stone door by which they’d entered. He started to scan the ceiling and corners, but couldn’t find the source of the incessant draft.

“There’s no draft,” Vincent said matter-of-factly, guessing what was going through Kaz’s mind. He began to look around the room as he’d only just noticed it. “The wind always blows in here. Just a breeze when the weather is still, and it roars when there’s a gale outside. When it rains, you never see the droplets, but the floor, walls, and ceiling become sopping wet.”

Kaz blinked in wonderment. “Why?”

Vincent rolled his eyes. “Why anything in this damn place? But if you mean _how_ …” He tossed his from head side to side in consideration. “You know how the ceiling in the Great Hall reflects the sky overhead, but the weather doesn’t actually get in? I think this room works by the opposite principle. The windows are impossible to open, and too cloudy to see outside, but the room itself is completely exposed to the elements.” He rapped his knuckles on the desk. “Good thing the furniture has been _Impervioused_.”

Kaz looked around again. “No wonder I’ve never been in here before. Who would want to teach classes in such a miserable place?”

“It’s actually pretty nice in the summer,” Vincent said, picking one of the yellow apples out of the fruit bowl and taking a large bite out of it. “I come in here to study sometimes. Even the teachers who know about it hardly ever think about it, so it’s nice and private.”

He took another bite of his apple and chewed with pleasure while Kaz considered this new information. He might have appreciated knowing about this place sooner so he could have done his meditation here. It always seemed like just when you thought you’d mapped out all the creases, the castle coughed up another surprise.

Danvers swallowed his bite of apple and returned his attention to Kazuma. “Anyway. Did you bring my kerchief like I asked?”

Kaz experienced an unpleasant dropping sensation in his chest. With one surprise after another since entering the disused classroom, he’d almost forgotten the kerchief. Without a word, he drew it out of a pocket. A number of confused feelings churned through his consciousness: residual shame from the facial he’d taken in the library, disgust that he’d knowingly been carrying Danvers’ cum rag in his pocket, anxiety about whatever Danvers wanted to do with the silk kerchief next, and… another feeling that he didn’t like to dwell on.

As he reached out to accept the kerchief, Vincent very deliberately wrapped his hand around Kazuma’s, squeezing it warmly and meeting the other boy’s eyes before tugging the green silk back into his possession. Kaz knew he was blushing, but he couldn’t look away as Vince idly drifted the silk under his nose to test the odor. “Tell me,” said the Slytherin in silky, intimate tones. “Have you had a chance to enjoy this yet?”

Kaz glared across the desk. “No.”

Vincent cocked an eyebrow. “No? You haven’t had a wank even once since yesterday?”

“No.” Kaz set his crockery back down on the desk, mostly as an excuse to look away from that intense green gaze.

“Did you have one yesterday morning, then? Maybe between classes, since you had that filthy comic in your bag.” Danvers’ tone was low and solicitous. He took another bite of apple and watched his victim squirm.

Kaz considered refusing to answer, but he knew Danvers would get him to talk eventually. “No… I’d had it there from the day before.”

“Ahh. So you haven’t cum in two days. I bet you feel _pretty_ needy right about now.” Vince flicked his glance very obviously at Kaz’s crotch. Kazuma hastily plucked a piece of chocolate from the desk and stuffed it into his mouth so he wouldn’t be tempted to grind his teeth. The Slytherin’s lecherous voice was starting to get to him, which he really didn’t need just then. “Are you going to toss yourself off tonight, then?”

Kaz shivered, only partly because of the breeze. Outside, the clouds had cleared up just in time to turn the windows orange from the sunset. Kazuma was even more reluctant to answer this question, but he could feel Danvers’ expectant stare on his neck. “I… I hadn’t planned to.”

“I see…” Vince took another bite of apple, then set the half-eaten fruit aside. Presently, he pulled open a drawer of the desk and withdrew a walnut-sized crystal ball like the ones Flitwick had given them earlier that day. “Why don’t you try practicing the Scrying Charm again? You can practice on this.”

Bewildered by the abrupt change of topic, Kazuma looked up as Danvers took the black, wooden lid from the box that housed the matcha set and used it to cover up his unfinished apple – along with a second glass marble. “Here we go. Under this lid, I’ve bitten the apple down to the core in a few spots. Use the Scrying Charm to look inside and tell me how many seeds have been exposed.”

Kaz needed a second for his mind to catch up with the instruction. Then he hastily pulled out his wand with cold fingers and held the crystal ball up in front of him. “O-okay. Um… _Tele-oculus_.”

As he practiced, Danvers got up and walked around somewhere behind him. Kaz started to peer over his shoulder, but Danvers just said, “Keep practicing,” and Kazuma got back to work. His notes were packed somewhere in his bag, but he didn’t feel like rifling through to get them. As the sun descended, the wind only picked up in the room. Kazuma’s fingers grew stiff with chill, and it was hard to get his hand to follow the tricky motion involved in the spell. “ _Tele-oculus… Tele-oculus…_ ”

A few minutes later, Kaz felt a hand against his shoulder and suppressed the urge to cringe away. He looked up to see Danvers smiling gently at him. “Come on, let’s move to where it’s more comfortable.”

At Vincent’s urging, Kaz moved himself over to the settee, which was undoubtedly more comfortable than the wooden chair he’d been sitting in. Then, the taller boy sat down right beside him and confidently draped an arm across the backrest. This did nothing to help Kazuma’s concentration. “That’s better, isn’t it?” Danvers asked.

Kaz wished he could have disagreed, but the Slytherin’s looming body offered a very comforting source of warmth and shelter from the breeze. It was just enough to keep his teeth from chattering. “Yeah… Better.” Kaz threw himself back into the spell to prevent further discussion. After two attempts, the crystal had at least gone opaque, which was some progress. The bell dismissing final period rang, but it would still be a few hours before dinner.

Before he could start on the third, Vincent reached around and slid his hand over Kazuma’s wand-hand. “Here. Try like this,” he said in a firm, steadying murmur. Kazuma’s heart pounded wildly, but Danvers’ hands were pouring some of their warmth into his icy fingers, so he allowed Danvers to manipulate his wrist movements freely.

_“Kaz, a person like that doesn’t_ need _magic to manipulate people!”_

The memory of Omar’s words brought a sense of guilt to the moment. He should _not_ be taking comfort in the touch of someone so… evil. He just wished it wasn’t so cold that he had to depend on Vincent’s body for warmth. His eyes drifted up to the empty grate in front of them, and he noticed the pile of pine logs for the second time.

“Say, Vince…” Kazuma looked up into those oh-so-very-close turquoise eyes. “Could we… maybe start the fire now?”

“Hm?” He cast a lazy look at the grate Kazuma indicated, then lifted his arm from the shorter boy’s shoulders. “Oh, right! Sorry about that. I’m a bit warm-blooded by nature, so I wasn’t really bothered.” He pulled out his wand and, with a flick, loaded a few logs into the fireplace. A red tongue of flame lapped up the middle of the stack, then spread into a cozy blaze that dispersed the cold and filled the air with a pleasant fragrance.

“Thank you,” Kaz said, audibly relieved.

“Sure.” In another lazy motion, Danvers stowed his wand and laid his arm across the backrest again.

Kaz wasn’t touching him now, but the proximity still made him nervous. After a few more attempts, the ball still appeared smudgy and indistinct. “There _is_ light to see under the lid, isn’t there?”

“Yep,” Danvers said at once. “Basic illumination charm on the ball itself. You should be able to see.” But Kazuma’s next attempt yielded no success. “Remember…” Vincent leaned in closer so that he was practically holding Kaz in the crook of his arm and whispered softly, “Try to imagine that both marbles are one, and that they’re a peephole you’re trying to look through. Imagine that the box you want to see into is right there in your hand. Just peer inside.”

The breeze tickling Kaz’s scarlet ears was too warm and too sweet to be anything but Vincent’s breath. He could smell that familiar bouquet of cloves and cinnamon, now with a rich overtone of apple. An unhelpfully distracting image of Vincent’s tongue licking the skin of the apple an instant before his teeth sunk through floated into his head.

“T… _Tele-oculus_.” Color swirled inside the crystal ball, then resolved into an image of the half-eaten apple on the desk. Kaz’s heart raced, and he pulled the ball in his palm even closer to look at it. “I see it! It’s got three seeds showing, and… maybe a corner of one more.”

“Well done, Kazzy!” Vincent wrapped his arm around Kazuma’s shoulders. The Ravenclaw suddenly blushed as he recalled what had been passing through his head when the spell finally took hold. Thoughts of his classmate’s tongue lingered on as he felt those long, warm fingers sliding through his hair. “I knew you’d get it eventually. I’m proud of you.”

Kaz tensed up and squeezed his thighs together. “Th-thank you,” he stammered softly. Vincent’s silky, almost paternal voice was starting to affect him the way it had done in Flitwick’s class. He tried to remember the threats Danvers had made just a few hours ago, but something inside him tried to argue back, _He won’t really do it. He won’t. He doesn’t want to. He likes me._ Kazuma knew that that voice was desperate and untrustworthy, but he yearned to listen to it. He reflected on how kind Danvers had been to him since entering the classroom, and he allowed himself to wonder why _that_ side couldn’t be the real Danvers? The _normal_ Danvers?

Meanwhile, Vincent continued to stroke Kaz’s hair affectionately. Kaz felt his nerves come alive under the boy’s fingertips. The tight pressure of his pants pressing against his throbbing cock was both unbearable and wonderful to experience. The settee felt so plush, the fire so warm, and Vincent’s body the best shelter from the wind. Kazuma started leaning up against that tall, inviting frame without a second thought. After his restless night, and this positively draining day, the thought of falling asleep under Danvers’ arm seemed like utter bliss.

Warm fingertips lifted Kaz’s chin and turned him to look into those sultry green eyes. “Now… How would you like to be rewarded?”

Kaz was too comfortable – too drowsy to even think of the divining board. He was only aware of how close Vincent’s face was to his. Their lips couldn’t have been more than 3 inches apart. The aroma of pine mingled with Vince’s scent of spiced apples. Kaz began to wonder if his lips would taste like warm, winter cider.

His chest tightened excitedly Danvers’ lips spread wider in a lascivious, daring grin. “Well? I can’t give you anything unless you ask for it first…”

For a moment, Kaz wondered if he dared ask for what was on his mind. He feared that Vince would just laugh at him. He worried that he might not be able to say the words right. So instead, he lifted himself up toward the handsome Slytherin. Just a little. Just a few inches. Just until he felt the contact between their lips.

Kaz relaxed his shoulders and allowed himself to fall back against the settee, but Vincent wasn’t so willing to let him get away. He placed a hand on the back of Kazuma’s head and held him – not forceful, but steady. As the kiss drew on past its fifth second, Kaz moaned with something like relief and braced his hands against Danvers’ chest. He closed his eyes and let his body go limp.

Vincent wrapped both arms around the little Ravenclaw’s petite body and cradled him, trailing his fingers over and over again through his mahogany locks. After a few long, deeply satisfying minutes, he pulled back, and the eyes of both boys shone as they reflected the orange firelight. Vince gave a slightly sheepish grin, as though their kiss had been a very fortunate accident on his part. Kaz produced a small, self-conscious giggle and clung to Danvers’ sleeves.

“So, is there… anything else I can do for you?” Vincent asked. He placed a hand meaningfully on Kaz’s hip and allowed his thumb to trace a delicate line between the boy’s belt and his crotch.

Kaz gulped with anxious excitement as Vincent’s thumb traced dangerously close to his throbbing stiffy. He knew what he wanted, but it felt like a vulgar crime to ask for it. “M… Maybe…”

Danvers fixed him with a predatory grin and leaned in closer. “‘Maybe?’” he repeated in a teasing lilt. Kaz gasped as Vincent placed both hands on his mid-thighs and squeezed possessively. “What do you mean, ‘maybe’? Do you want something or don’t you?”

With so much blood in his cheeks and his dick, Kazuma was having a heart time forming coherent thoughts in his deoxygenated brain. However, one thing felt clear to him: This was a game he and Danvers were playing. Kazuma knew what he wanted, and Danvers knew what it was too. Danvers wanted Kazuma to ask for what he wanted. But Kazuma couldn’t _say_ what it was, or that would spoil the fun.

So as Vincent started massaging his thighs, Kaz leaned against the backrest and groaned, “Yes… I want…” But he let the sentence hang.

Vincent grinned, kneading Kazuma’s thighs with the heels of his hands. “What? What do you want?” He moved his hands a little further up toward Kaz’s belt. “Is this it?”

Kaz was breathing so heavily, and still he felt lightheaded. He spread his legs wider almost imperceptibly. “Mm… m-maybe…”

Vincent’s eyes glittered. “Ooh, aren’t you a _coy_ little strumpet?”

Kaz glared rather weakly and moaned what could conceivably have been an objection.

Then Vincent slid his hands up to grip Kazuma’s thighs just below the sockets. Kaz yelped in surprise and leaned as far back as the settee would allow, but he didn’t try to pull himself away. Vince chuckled and leaned in close. “Is _this_ what you wanted, Kazzy?” he whispered, then started to move his thumbs in wide, rotating arcs that narrowly missed Kaz’s groin. Kazuma gasped and hitched his hips up against Vincent’s palms, but he didn’t say anything one way or the other. 

“Or maybe…” Danvers started to rub his thumb suggestively against the button of Kazuma’s trousers. “Maybe you’d like me to go even further… Huh, Kazzy?” His other hand was still massaging generally around the other boy’s crotch, but never actually touched his bulge. Kaz couldn’t help but thrust his hips imploringly.

All of a sudden, Vincent grabbed Kaz by the knees and spread them. Kazuma’s eyes went wide as Danvers pressed himself right in between his thighs, grinning predatorially. “I’m afraid that’s not good enough, Kazzy. If you want anything more from me, you’re going to have to say it out loud.”

Kazuma shuddered. All at once, he felt afraid again. It was so sweet… so _fun_ to just let himself go limp and let Danvers do whatever he wanted to him. To actually _ask him_ for it was quite a different matter. He tried to imagine what Omar would say if he learned that Kaz had slept with Vincent Danvers the _very same day_ that Omar had warned him to stay away. Would Omar forgive him for blatantly ignoring his warning like this – for _asking_ Danvers to sleep with him? _Omar doesn’t have to know, though…_ But could he keep it a secret?

“I’m waiting.” With an easy movement, Vincent took hold of Kaz’s shoulders and pushed him down onto the settee and climbed astride him. Kaz’s heart pounded even louder, but Vincent didn’t do anything more than grind his hips into Kazuma’s. Still, Kaz squirmed and grunted with yearning, pushing his hips back into Vincent’s hard bulge. “Tell me what it is you want,” Vincent said. Then, leaning in until his lips brushed against Kazuma’s ear, he whispered, “ _Speak, boy._ ”

The command harkened back to just over two hours ago when Vince had demanded his obedience and equated him to a dog. Now, the fear and shame that he’d felt in the lavatory resurfaced as mere ghosts, caught in the current of his arousal. In desperate obedience he yapped, “I want… _you_ …”

Vincent’s eyes glittered with approval. “Good boy… That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He bent lower and slashed the tip of his tongue across Kazuma’s trembling lips. “What do you want me to do to you, Kazzy? Confess your dirty little secrets to me. I know your filthiest little fantasy already… What’s one or two more if I can make them come true?”

A voice in his head, which sounded a lot like Omar, urged Kazuma not to tell Vincent anything more. It warned that any man who was this happy to rub salt in a fresh wound was entirely untrustworthy. And yet, guiltily – shamefully – Kaz found that the idea of _giving_ Vincent power over him made his cock pound as hard as his chest. In a quavering voice, Kaz whispered, “I… I want Vince to touch… me…” Then he bit his lip, embarrassed that he’d fallen into the old Japanese habit of addressing people in the third person.

“Yeah?” Odd speaking pattern or no, Vincent was clearly pleased. He licked Kaz on the cheek this time, then began to roll his hips against the little Ravenclaw’s pelvis with the sort of perfectly erotic fluidity that takes real practice. “Does Kazzy want me to stroke his needy cock? Want me to kiss you in places nobody in the world has ever kissed you? Want me to make you mine?”

Kaz strained fruitlessly against the hands that pinned his shoulders to the settee and groaned, “Yes… please, Vincent!” His whole body felt flushed. Every grinding tap of Vincent’s hips pushed him a little closer to insanity. He became desperate to shed out of his school robes and feel his classmate’s naked skin against his.

“Say it.” Vince braced one hand against the settee’s armrest to prop himself up, then began to knead Kaz’s stiffy with the heel of his free hand. “I want to spoil you rotten, my pretty little puppy. But first, you have to _beg._ ”

Kaz whimpered reflexively, but now that Omar-ish voice in the back of his mind was speaking louder than ever. This was his chance. Vincent had said that he would never force himself on Kazuma, and now he was refusing to go any further until Kaz asked him to. If he was ever going to back out, now was the time. In his mind, he could even picture himself grabbing Vincent’s hand, pushing it away from his crotch, and saying that he was scared, or that he wasn’t ready yet. Vincent might be disappointed, but surely he would understand.

Then, Kaz imagined how stupid he would feel later when he thought back on how he had passed up the chance to _finally_ have real sex with another guy. He looked up into Vincent’s eyes, saw the daring hunger within them, and was defeated by the temptation. It was what he wanted. He _knew_ it was the right choice. Kaz would be getting something that he wanted right now, and it would surely help him get his divining board back from Danvers later down the line. And if he came to his senses later and realized that it had been a mistake, then at least it will have been a very fun mistake. Omar would forgive him eventually.

“Kiss me,” Kaz said, smiling desirously up at his classmate whose face looked beautiful and otherworldly in the glow from the fireplace. “Please, Vince… I want you to kiss me… I want to feel your hands on my skin…” He put his hands up and started to slide his palms across the tight vest under Vincent’s robe. “And…” Chest heaving, head spinning, Kaz spread his legs invitingly wide and lifted his hips just slightly off the settee. “I really… _really_ want to feel my needy dick in your big, strong hand… Please, Vincent… _Please!..._ ”

Vincent licked his lips with wicked delight. “ _Good boy_ ,” he said in that patronizing dog-owner voice. Then he laid himself on top of Kaz and undid his classmate’s fly as their lips locked together.

Kaz shut his eyes and allowed himself to be swept away. He tried to echo the motions of Vince’s lips as they slid and wavered across his own. When his classmate’s tongue began to flash entreatingly over his lips, Kaz opened them to let that slick muscle inside. He could still taste some lingering flavor of apple and cinnamon, along with a flavor that was simply… _Vincent_. A flavor that made him feel giddy. He slid his own tongue in a circle around that smooth, intruding organ and heard Vince humming in approval.

All of a sudden, the constant pressure of his trousers and underpants against his stiffy was released, and Kaz’s dick was exposed to the breeze and firelight of the classroom. Vincent pulled back, and they both looked down at the Ravenclaw’s leaky member.

“Not bad,” Vincent said, running the very tip of his finger along the back of the rigid dick. Kazuma grunted and tightened his hips to keep them still before Vince leaned in and placed a kiss above his honey-brown eyes. “But I’m afraid you’re still just my _little Kazzy_.”   
Kaz gave Vincent a little, blushing frown. He knew that he ought to feel offended, since Vince was teasing him about his size, but the phrase ‘little Kazzy’ just made his dick throb even the harder. “It’s… I’m perfectly average size,” Kaz complained weakly.

“Uh-huh. Sure,” Vincent said cockily. Then he shrugged out of his robe, jerked off the vest, undid his fly, and allowed his 22 centimeter prick to swing out. Even with his body nearly prone, the Slytherin’s erect member throbbed suspended above Kaz’s crotch. When Vince flexed it, his cock nearly touched his own navel. “But compared to _me,_ average is just… tiny.”

Kazuma couldn’t argue. It was simply true. Damn him.

Vincent reached down and, with one finger, pressed his pre-slickened tip against the back of Kaz’s cock. Kaz pressed his hands to his mouth and whined into his palms. Already he felt embarrassingly close to the edge.

“Are you going to scream?”

Kaz opened his eyes at the question, and indeed he nearly _did_ scream at the sight that awaited him. Vincent’s teeth were bared ferociously. His eyes were wild – almost crazed with hunger. He looked like he might bite into Kaz’s neck at any moment.

“I said, are you going to scream?” Vincent breathed. Kaz shook his head, hands still clamped over his mouth. Then Vincent grabbed his and Kazuma’s dicks together in one hand and squeezed until his little classmate shivered. “No? Well do you _want_ to? I think it would be _sooooo_ cute.” He stroked their cocks together, and Kazuma tensed his whole body up for fear that he would ejaculate prematurely at this rate.

Dizzily, Kaz imagined himself screaming as Vincent Danvers pushed him over the brink of orgasm and still further. It would happen if he lost control of his voice, he knew. And if Vincent wanted it…

Vince ran his fingers through Kaz’s hair again, staring at the squirmy boy beneath him. “C’mon, Kazzy, don’t be selfish. _Master_ wants to hear his puppy’s sweet voice. Are you gonna keep those cute little moans all to yourself?”

Kaz knew he ought to feel angry or embarrassed, but instead he just felt thrilled and… _honored_ to hear himself spoken of with such desire and adoration. He put his hands down, and his voice came leaking out in a falsetto. “Vince… Vincent…”

“’Atta boy, Kazzy. Don’t hold back.” Vincent’s grip grew tighter, and Kaz squealed at the wonderful pressure. Pre that was not his own dripped onto his stomach. “Is this what you wanted, Kazzy? To feel your prick get dominated by this massive schlong? Does it feel good to know that this dick _owns_ you?”

“Yes!” Kaz yelped, and he started to thrust into his classmate’s tight fist. There was no doubt that this was the most erotic thing he’d ever done – that Danvers was the sexiest man he’d ever laid eyes on. “God, I love it! It’s so good! Oh, Vincent…”

Half a minute later, just as Kazuma thought he must be bare inches from the edge, Vincent loosened his grip. Kaz opened his eyes and saw Vince leaning back, resting one knee on the settee and the other foot planted on the floor. Firelight cast a dim glow on his toned body, and Kaz reflected that despite not being on his house team, Vincent had a Quidditch player’s physique.

Danvers raised a finger and beckoned Kazuma toward him with that devouring look in his eyes. As Kaz sat up, he commanded, “Take your shirt off. Mustn’t have it get ruined now, must we?”

Kaz hastened to obey. He experienced a fresh high from the act of baring his body to somebody he desired. Moments later, he knelt shirtless in front of his crush and tossed his robe carelessly aside. Vincent readily accepted Kaz back into his embrace and ran his pale, gleaming eyes over the little Ravenclaw’s pale, bare shoulders.

“I was right,” Vincent purred, dragging the very tips of his fingers down Kazuma’s spine. “You look _even prettier_ by firelight.”

“P-pretty?” Kaz whimpered, shivering from the feather-light contact along his spine. He was blushing with embarrassment, yet throbbing with need.

“That’s right.” Vincent traced a finger along the curve of Kaz’s eyebrows, exploring every feature of his face. “You’re so cute, so sweet… And your honeyed eyes sparkle so warmly in the firelight. You’re like a beautiful daydream come to suck my cock and keep me company.”

The mixture of dirty talk and sweet nothings made Kaz’s insides squirm with pleasure. He pressed himself up against his crush’s body – then yelped as Vincent gripped their cocks together once more. “Ahh! V-V-Vince!...” He threw his arms around the Slytherin’s broad back and clung tight.

“That’s it… That right, baby,” Vince whispered. Together, the two of them were leaking so much pre that his fist glided easily over both dicks. “Hold me tight now, puppy. Master is gonna take real good care of you. You want Master to finish you, don’t you puppy?”

“Yes!” Kaz humped needily against Danvers’ cock, screwing his eyes shut and leaning against the taller boy’s shoulder. The powerful motion of Vincent’s muscles, the soft grunts interspersed with his steady breathing, and the clean, spicy tang of fresh perspiration made him seem incredibly real, and yet too good to be true. 

“Are you close, baby?” Vincent asked, resting a hand on the back of Kaz’s head.

“Yes!” Kaz gasped. “I’m really close! I’m going to cum! You’re going to make me cum!”

“Ask Master for permission first,” Vince whispered.

“I… Please let me cum,” Kaz grunted quickly, not sure he could hold out much longer.

“Ask _nicely,_ puppy,” Vincent further clarified, gripping the back of Kaz’s hair – but without pain.

Kaz teetered on the brink, dizzy and nearly cross-eyed. He couldn’t even move his hips anymore. “Please, Master!” he squealed desperately. “Please, Master, make me cum! Master, I want to cu- ah! AHHH!”

“ _Cum!_ ” Danvers growled, mere seconds before Kaz shot his load.

The firelit room went dark in Kazuma’s eyes as his dick spurted wad after wad into the other student’s hand. “Ahhh! Ahhh! Oh, Vincent! Vincent! Vince- GEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

His cries were punctuated by an ear-splitting scream as Vince suddenly bit down hard on his shoulder. Kaz hadn’t been expecting it, and if given the choice, he probably wouldn’t have asked Vincent to do it to him. But as it came right on the heels of his orgasm, there was nothing he could do. Sensory overload had driven the word “stop” momentarily out of his vocabulary, and he couldn’t bear to think of pulling away from the strong hand that was milking his pulsating member. All he could do was squeeze Vince’s tall back even tighter.

Then, just as Kazuma started to feel the hot, wet drip of Vincent’s ejaculate lancing up his chest and run down his still-throbbing-dick, he heard a growl in his ear. Danvers started to suck with all his might on the patch of flesh between his jaws, and Kaz’s scream rose another octave. His cock gave another powerful lurch against Vince’s rigid pole, and he dug his nails in between the other boy’s shoulders just to communicate how much it hurt. If anything, though, this made Vincent bite down with even greater relish.

“ _AHHHH!_ Ne… pl…” Kaz was still screaming, but he was at last trying to shape some semblance of coherent speech. Before his orgasm had entirely faded, Vincent finally relinquished his shoulder. Blubbering and shell-shocked, Kazuma allowed himself to be lowered back onto the settee while his dick gave its last couple spurts and went still. He could suddenly feel the room’s constant breeze blowing cold air across his sperm-drenched belly. He was dizzy, and a sudden, unfamiliar fear began to gnaw beneath his skin.

Vincent’s handsome face loomed above him again. Those hazy, turquoise eyes gazed into his for a lingering second. Then those familiar lips curled to one side in a cocky smirk. “I was right. You are too cute when you scream.”

Abashed, Kazuma tried to hunch his shoulders forward protectively, but even this small feat proved difficult. His body felt astonishingly drained. Then, Vince lowered himself onto the settee beside Kazuma and gathered the smaller boy up in his arms.

“Did you enjoy it?” he asked after half a minute’s silent cuddling.

It was such an obvious question, and yet Kazuma found it amazingly reassuring. The unidentifiable anxiety he’d felt a moment ago was assuaged by it, somehow, and he rested his head back onto Danvers’ broad chest. “I loved it. I’ve… never done that with anyone else.”

“Good,” Vincent hummed in that strong, rumbling voice of his. After a second, he brushed a finger gingerly over the sore spot where he’d bitten his paramour on the shoulder. “Sorry I got a little rough with you at the end there… Was it too much for you?”

Kaz needed a second to consider his answer. “It was… pretty intense. I can’t lie.”

“Aw, I’m sorry Kazzy,” Vincent said consolingly. “Still… You were really cute just then. I find it _really_ erotic when a guy clings to me for dear life like that.”

Kaz blushed. He was still trying to think of a reply when he felt Vince’s lips latch around the sore spot on his shoulder once more. Out of reflex he reached back and grabbed Vincent’s thigh with savage pressure, but Vince wasn’t sucking or biting at the bruise. He was simply licking it – swirling his tongue in lewd, languid spirals all over the bruised area. It didn’t hurt, but Kaz’s sensitive nerves were stirred into a frenzy by the contact. He found it impossible to keep still.

At last, Vincent let go with a wet _pop!_ and kissed Kazuma just behind the ear. “Feel any better?”

To Kaz’s surprise, it did. “Thank… thanks!”

“Sure. Now, just hold on a second…” Vincent reached into his trouser pocket with some fumbling, then pulled out the same silk kerchief Kaz had returned him just an hour ago. With efficient nonchalance, he used it to wipe Kaz’s belly and chest clean, then folded it the other way and did himself.

Kaz couldn’t help but blush as he watched and felt the smooth silk against his skin. If Vince’s musk had been potent on it before, he could only wonder how strong it would be now with an extra dose, plus his own ejaculate. “Thanks… for that,” he said hesitantly, relaxing as the Slytherin boy tucked the kerchief back into his trouser pocket.

“Don’t mention it.” Vincent gave Kazuma another hug around the waist and settled himself against the settee’s backrest.

For a while, the two of them just lounged there in the disused classroom, listening to the whistle of wind in the rafters and watching the flames in the grate crackle their way through the logs of fragrant pine. When they did look at one another, it was only to smile and exchange sweet little kisses. For Kaz, it was almost like meditation. His thoughts ground to a standstill so he could simply be present in the moment – and in Danvers’ protecting arms.

Almost half an hour went by before Kazuma thought to ask, “What time do you suppose it is?”

Danvers gave a delicate snort, then tapped his classmate on the arm. Kaz looked down and realized he hadn’t bothered to take his watch off before they started having sex. Abashed, he lifted his wrist and tilted the watch at an angle to catch the firelight. Then he adjusted it to make sure he wasn’t reading the time wrong because of a glare.

Realizing he’d been correct, Kazuma let out an exasperated huff and fell back onto Vincent’s chest. “Damn… Dinner starts in one minute. I’m gonna be late.”

“Just stay here,” Vincent offered simply. “We have food.”

“I can’t,” Kazuma groaned, then pushed himself upright. “I…” He hesitated. The memory of his conversation with Omar had just returned to him, and the feeling of guilt along with it. _He wasn’t here. He doesn’t know my reasons… My situation… And by his own admission, he doesn’t know a thing about Vincent._ “I… well, I skipped dinner last night, and lunch today. My friends are going to start really worrying if they think I’m making a habit of skipping meals.” He decided to avoid bringing Omar’s name up at all.

“Well… Alright then.” Danvers sounded a little disappointed, but he just ran his palm across Kaz’s back and helped him to retrieve their clothes.

It was an odd moment. It felt somehow both intimate and awkward at once as Kaz picked up one garment at a time and went about dressing himself. Every now and again, he’d look up to find Danvers looking at him. Instead of looking away whenever this happened, Vincent would smile at him, and two times out of three he would lean over to give Kaz another little kiss or rub of the shoulder. Kaz _thought_ it seemed like an oddly stifling behavior, and yet he _felt_ indescribably grateful for the little reassurances. It was as though Vincent were saying without words, “ _I had fun tonight. Let’s do this again. Soon._ ”

Once they were both dressed, Kaz thought that Vincent was going to kiss him again for an extra long time, but instead, the Slytherin gave a sudden start. “Oh! That’s right, I need to give you this again.” As Kaz watched, Vince pulled the silk cum rag out of his pocket a second time and handed it over. “Here. While you were busy with the scrying charm, I put a spell on this so we can stay in touch easier.”

“O… Oh…” Kazuma accepted the silk rag and looked at it uncertainly. It didn’t look any different to his eyes.

Vincent leaned closer with a conspiratorial grin. “Keep this in your pocket from now on. If my schedule’s free and I want to see you, it’ll start to squirm like a mouse in your pocket. Check the embroidery at the corner, and it will tell you where I want us to meet.”

Kaz stared at Vincent for a few seconds, waiting for the joke. When nothing else was said, he looked at the filthy rag again. “O-oh… Um…” He blinked and said the first relevant thing that came to mind. “What if… I mean, what if I’m… busy when you call me?”

“Come anyway.” He was completely deadpan when he said it, but he started laughing mere seconds into Kazuma’s aghast expression. “Just come if you _are_ available. Of course I don’t expect you to skip class or anything… Though of course, I’ll definitely appreciate it whenever you’re able to make time for me like a good boy.”

The suggestive lilt at the end was very clear for Kaz to understand. _He needs me to prove my loyalty before he gives my divining board back._ He nodded. “I understand.”

“And one other thing.” Vincent took a step closer and began trailing his fingers through Kazuma’s thick locks of dark hair. “Starting tonight, I’m the only one who can get you off.” His tone was incredibly mild – his smile almost patronizing. “At least once a night, I want you to get yourself off while huffing in my essence. That shouldn’t be a problem, right? When the lights are out and the curtains around your bed are drawn, no one will be able to see you. You can just bury your nose in that musk and toss yourself cross-eyed. Alright?”

Kaz wasn’t at all sure that this was ‘alright,’ but the question allowed for only one answer. “Alright,” he said, blushing scarlet.

Vince’s thumb continued to stroke his forehead affectionately. “I’ll know if you don’t. Remember that. I expect my puppy to do as he’s told.”

The blush started to run right down Kazuma’s chest as well. “I understand.”

“I’ll give you a pass tonight though, since we just had sex,” Vincent added. “You’ll begin this stage of your training tomorrow.”

Shame and embarrassment drizzled right down to the tips of his toes, but he kept his head up. “O-okay… thank you.”

“Any time.”

Grinning broadly, as if he’d just bestowed some very special treat, Vincent gave Kaz’s hair an extra tousle. Then, before they left the room, Vince pulled Kaz in close and gave him a long, lewd, tongue-filled kiss on the mouth. Kaz just stood there and permitted the kiss, feeling his belly squirming and his cock coming back to attention in seconds. That kiss decapitated every fear and objection that had been rearing up while they were still in the bud. By the time they broke off, only the fact that he was now 13 minutes late for dinner stopped Kaz from halting Danvers in his tracks and begging for a second round. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that wasn't my best summary, was it... 
> 
> Funny thing is, I have the next chapter already written, and I agonized for ages over whether or not to combine it with this chapter. In the end, I decided they would work better separately. Expect a follow-up before the week is out. 
> 
> In the meantime, what do you think? Is there more to Danvers than meets the eye? Does he have a spark of genuine affection for Kazuma? Is Kaz a fool? I'm interested to know your thoughts. 
> 
> And as ever, thank you all for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaz makes good on his promise to rejoin his friends at dinner that evening.   
> Despite Kaz's best attempts to hide his activities from them, the shrewd Omar manages to sus him out.

Just as Kaz set foot on the ground floor, he heard a cry from overhead. “KAZ!”

Three floors up, Omar was leaning over a banister looking down at him, and Kaz was suddenly grateful that Danvers had decided to linger behind in the disused classroom. He waved to Omar. “Hey…”

“Don’t move! I’ll be right down.” Without waiting for a reply, Omar pushed himself back and started down the steps at a run. Kaz breathed heavily and made extra sure that Vincent’s kerchief was out of sight before his tan roommate had caught up.

“About time!” Omar exclaimed, glaring daggers. “What happened? What did Danvers do to you? Where have you been all this time? I checked up and down the library and there was no sign of you.”

“I wasn’t in the library!” Kaz said defensively before remembering that it wasn’t _him_ Omar was angry at. “I was in a disused classroom in the… Charms… corridor,” Kaz invented at the last second, waving his hand vaguely to try and make his pause come off as incidental.

“And?” Omar pressed. “What took so long? What did that ass try to do to you?”

“Nothing!” Kaz said, perhaps too quickly. “It was just…” He took a steadying breath and tried to proceed in a more even tone of voice. “He was reluctant to end the tutoring sessions. Apparently my Transfiguration tutoring actually _did_ help him. But… I managed to cut back a bit. Told him I’ll be busy next week and might not be able to make time for him.”

Omar was quiet for a minute, and Kaz couldn’t tell what was going on behind those inscrutable dark eyes. Finally, Omar gave a quiet, “I see…” Then after a pause, “Well, that’s something at least. He didn’t do or… _say_ anything…” he shook his hand in a vague wobbling gesture, “ _weird_ to you?”

Kaz couldn’t help but laugh – mostly at Omar’s expression. “No, he didn’t do anything ‘ _weird_ ’ to me,” he said, mimicking the gesture.

“Alright. That’s good.” Omar let out a pent-up huff. “Now let’s hurry it up already. If Leo’s eaten all the pork pies again, I’m blaming you.”

“But you don’t eat pork,” Kaz said, baffled.

Omar scoffed. “ _I_ don’t, but _you_ do. I’m saying Leo’s gonna get fat if he keeps taking your helpings.” Laughing as much with relief as at the dig at Leo’s gluttony, Kaz allowed himself to be shepherded down to the great hall.

On the way, though, Omar’s attitude became rather more subdued. Kaz tried to draw him into conversations about classes and the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend, but he seemed distracted – as though he were only half paying attention. It was just as they came in sight of the Great Hall, and Kaz informed Omar that he had managed to do the Scrying Charm properly, that Omar returned a sharp, “That’s great, Kaz. Well done.”

Kazuma felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He made no attempt to speak again until he took his place at the lively Ravenclaw table where – sure enough – Leonard had two individual pork pies on his plate, one in his hand, and the tray from a fourth lying discarded on one side. Kaz took his seat on Leo’s right and snatched one of the pies of his plate.

“Oi!” Leo cried, covering his mouth with a napkin before swallowing his bite of pie. “I was gonna eat that!”

“I know you were. You have no self-control,” Kaz said dryly before heaping pickled beet root and rice pilaf onto Leo’s plate. “Now eat your vitamins.”

“Eugh!” Leonard complained, pushing the beats away from his pork pies with a fork. “Those are foul.”

“They’re not fowl, they’re root vegetable. And if you don’t eat them, you’ll collapse before you even make it to Hogsmeade.” Out of the corner of his eye, Kaz was gratified to see that this had wrung a smirk out of Omar.

Omar started to load up his own plate with carrots, baked beans, and roast goose. “Just imagine you’re preparing a banquet for all the jelly slugs you’ll eat tomorrow.” Leo rolled his eyes at this, but grudgingly ate his beats.

Back in the common room, Omar seemed in markedly better spirits as he brewed a carafe of rich, dark coffee at his and Kaz’s favorite bay window. Clouds had rolled in again in preparation for another downpour, so there wasn’t much of a view. Still, it was where they felt at home.

While they sipped, Omar pulled out a sketch he’d been working on for Professor Sprout’s class and started attaching labels to some type of flowering vine while referencing his text book. Kaz had lain out a few blank ofuda and was trying to work out how he might translate the scrying spell onto a talisman. The project was giving him more trouble than usual because his mind kept wandering back to the disused classroom on the fourth floor, and to the silk kerchief resting in his pocket.

_It’s happened. I’ve done it with somebody. Does this mean I’m not a virgin now?_ The thought made him feel warm inside, but there were still unanswered questions in his head. _Does he really care for me? He insists on this ridiculous ‘therapy’ notion, but… if that’s how he was raised, maybe he really believes it? Maybe he really thinks he’s doing something good for me?_ Still, Kaz had to admit that threats and blackmail were a pretty dodgy way of trying to help someone. Slytherins were known to adopt a ‘the-ends-justify-the-means’ mindset, but this was pushing it a bit far. _But we were getting on so well… Surely it won’t be long now before he gives me my board back._ Of course, that in turn raised the question, _Once I have it back, will I still go along with all this?_

He thought of the scene in the lavatory again, but the whole memory seemed to have been repainted in light of their tryst in the disused classroom. Danvers had threatened him until he was reduced to tears, then laughed at him and made it all seem a joke. Omar was right – it _would_ take a really twisted mind to do something like that for fun. Yet, if Danvers actually cared for him – and had done the whole time – it’s possible that he’d only been making empty threats. He hadn’t been moved by Kaz’s tears because he was never planning to follow through on breaking the board. He could smile because there had never been any actual malice in the threat. _The best possible conclusion in that case is that Vincent is both wildly inappropriate and an emotional imbecile._

Remembering the elderly house elf on whom Vincent had bestowed so much care, Kaz thought to himself, _He can’t be all bad!_ But then immediately, he recalled a thing his old Onmyoudo master had once told him. _“Yin and Yang are mutually inescapable. People do what they do for reasons of their own, and it’s not decided until after the fact whether their deeds are good or bad. When a good person does a bad thing, the balance of their soul has not altered – and the opposite is also true.”_ So which action was a better representation of the _real_ Vincent Danvers? The blackmail or the… _cuddling_?

“That’s a lot of boxes,” Omar said suddenly.

Kaz looked down at the ofuda he was painting. Beneath the pentacle and a few kanji relating to sight and connection, Kazuma had absent-mindedly written the kanji for ‘mouth’ six times in a row. “Oh… Oops…” Grateful that Omar wouldn’t be able to recognize the mouth radical from anything else, Kaz crumpled the slip up and pulled out a fresh one.

However, now that he’d drawn Omar’s attention, the tan prefect was giving him that shrewd stare that meant an earnest conversation was imminent. Kaz met his gaze and did his best to look bemused rather than guilty. “What?”

Omar sighed slowly and shut the herbology textbook on his sketch. “Kaz… You remember how my cousin _and_ my uncle are both compulsive liars?”

“Uh…” Kaz vaguely recollected, but he wasn’t in a hurry to call back to it just then. The insinuation made his chair feel suddenly quite uncomfortable.

“Look…” A note of impatience was in Omar’s voice. He closed his eyes for a moment to keep it under control. “I’ll skip to the end. I basically grew up being lied to for no good reason, and _I get it._ It doesn’t bother me. People lie. I’m not going to judge you for it, because I know you must have your reasons.”

“Um… Okay… Thanks?” While less anxious to jump out of his chair, Kaz couldn’t help but be on edge. He threw a quick glance around the common room to make sure nobody was listening to their conversation.

Omar continued, his voice soft yet earnest. “But don’t think that just because I’ve stopped digging at your story means that I’ve bought it. Oh, you have an _excellent_ poker face at times, Kaz, but you can’t think on your feet worth shit. You’ll notice that I never asked why – when you had good reason to avoid being alone with Danvers – you instead went with him to an abandoned classroom where he could corner you.”

Kaz felt his face turn hot. “That… I told you, it-”

Omar interrupted him. “If that weren’t enough, I’m not stupid enough to miss that your hair is a mess, your tie is on backwards,” his voice dropped to such a low whisper that Kaz had to read his lips to catch, “ _and you smell like sex._ ”

Kaz went utterly rigid. In an instant, every memory involving Vincent Danvers since the previous day flashed through his head, and his blood went cold. He hadn’t planned on being found out so quickly. It was like Omar had peered into his head and seen all the memories he’d been hiding.

Before he could say anything, though, Omar leaned back and lowered the intensity of his stare somewhat. “Still… You only tried to lie me. You didn’t tell me to piss off and mind my own business. That tells me that you still think of me as a friend, even if you don’t trust me.”

“I do trust you!” Kazuma said immediately. Omar’s suggestion cut deep, and the words were wrenched from him almost as a reflex.

Omar met his eyes, and a smile creased his lips. “Alright. You _do_ trust me, but not enough to tell me what’s going on.” He put up a hand as Kaz started to say something else. “I’m not asking you to. It wouldn’t be the same if you only told me because I was interrogating you, anyway.”

A snort of laughter escaped Kazuma. “Now you sound like Vincent, yourself.”

Omar arched an eyebrow. “So he’s ‘Vincent’ now, is he?” Kaz blushed, but Omar ignored it and continued, “Listen… All I’m trying to get at is… You aren’t alone. I don’t know why you’re covering up for Danvers – if it’s because you have a reason to trust him or any other reason – but I can’t help being leery of him. What I fear most here is that you’ll think that you can trust him, and that you can’t trust me. I need you to know that I’m on your side. You’re my best mate, Kaz, and if Danvers ever tries to hurt you, I’ll feed him to the tentacula and get thrown out of Hogwarts with a smile. You got that?”

In spite of his best friend’s meddling, Kaz felt warm with gratitude. He decided that, some time when there were fewer people around and they had a bit of privacy, he would tell Omar… at least a little more of what was happening. In the meantime… “So… about the, um… _smell_ … Had you already known that… that I…” He swallowed.

Omar gave a breathy laugh. “That you wouldn’t care one way or the other to be on Penelope’s Christmas card list? I had my suspicions. Not very many _boys_ go for Divination in their NEWT’s, you know.”

Kaz smiled sheepishly, wondering if this was another of Omar’s classic understatements. “You don’t… mind, do you?”

“Mind what?” Omar asked flatly.

“Mind… having a dorm mate… like me?”

“Of course I mind. You’re a terrible dorm mate.” Then when Kazuma cringed back, Omar added, just as deadpan as before, “Your breath stinks in the morning, you leave your chocolate frog cards lying around, and I found one of my missing quills in your sock drawer the other day. You’re a _terrible_ dorm mate. But for all that, I still prefer you over Jack Travers.” Jack was another of the boys in their year who had a poster of a swimsuit model pinned to the canopy of his four-poster, and who had allowed potion ingredients to rot in his trunk twice since their second year.

Kaz’s sigh of relief turned into a laugh at the end, and then into an indignant scowl. “Catsanova’s the one who steals quills, you know! He just dropped those off next to my bed last night, and I stuck them in my drawer because I didn’t know who they belonged to.”

Omar goggled at him. “What… Seriously? I was only joking.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short and snacky chapter for you, quickly following on the heals of the last one. 
> 
> I like to think that everybody needs a friend like Omar. Interestingly, my spouse said that this was his favorite chapter so far! I hope you all also found enjoyment with it. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading! The next chapter might be a few weeks, so be sure to subscribe if you don't want to miss it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going into Hogsmeade, Kaz is able to ward off the dementors with no problem. But it looks like fending off his amorous Slytherin suitor might be more of a challenge. No sooner does he arrive than Vincent signals him for a meeting in the Three Broomsticks. What's he playing at?

Kazuma’s dream of sitting pantless at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall while Danvers fondled his nutsack was interrupted by a random spasm in his legs. His eyes shot open and looked about until he remembered where he was. All was quiet. It felt as though his eyes had just closed a minute ago. When he peaked through the curtain of his fourposter, sure enough, Kaz saw that scarcely an hour had passed since he’d lain down. He had a pounding erection after his frightening and erotic dream.

Kaz sank back onto his pillow and screwed his eyes shut. He had errands to run before their trip to Hogsmeade the next day, and it wouldn’t do to be scratching his eyes with fatigue. However, his erect cock was making a very distracting tent in the sheets. He rolled over and tried to crush his stiffy under his bodyweight, but this only made the desire to rub one out wax even stronger.

After about a minute, it was evident that Kaz would have to tend to his needs before he slept. As he reached for the waist of his night pants, however, he recalled the silk kerchief that was balled up in the pocket of his robe. Vince had said to him, “ _Starting tonight, I’m the only one who can get you off_.” He wasn’t supposed to get himself off unless he sniffed Vincent’s kerchief while he did it. But then he recalled Vincent saying that he didn’t expect Kaz to use the kerchief tonight. Did that mean that he was free to masturbate without it for tonight? Vincent said he would know if Kaz disobeyed him, but could that have just been a bluff?

As Kaz lay upon his hardon with his fingers in his pants, it occurred to him that he would be expected to start tossing off with the rag to his nose hereafter in any case. There really wasn’t much point in waiting. Moving discreetly, he crawled over to the foot of his bed, reached out past the curtain to where his robe was hanging, and dug around in the pocket until he found the kerchief. A prickling sense of disgust lit up his chest as his fingers sunk into a spot in the silk that was still damp with ejaculate, but still he carried it with him back to his place in bed and started to gingerly unfold the crumpled cloth.

Reservations began to assail him. This was wrong… wrong on so many levels. It was a filthy, perverted thing to do, jerking off to the stench of another man’s musk – let alone a manipulative blackmailer. Especially when his best mate was so worried about his feelings for the cunning Slytherin. On the other hand, there was still the possibility that Vincent actually cared for him, in which case there was something erotically romantic about the act. Furthermore, his libido-clouded mind supplied, Omar had already said that he wasn’t going to judge Kaz for his decisions. Hadn’t he? Something like that.

_That’s far from giving Vincent his seal of approval,_ Kaz argued back. His libido then answered that his relationship (or whatever it was) with Vincent wasn’t at issue, but rather his need to get off. Kazuma’s private fantasies were no more Omar’s business than they had been Vincent Danvers’ to begin with. Kaz felt guilty the moment he thought it, but he couldn’t deny the effectiveness of the argument.

In the end, his dick won out. Kaz pulled off his night pants, pushed his shirt up behind his head, and gripped his aching member in one hand. Then, cautiously, he lifted the kerchief up to his face. The musk had been at the edge of his awareness ever since he’d drawn the curtains closed, and now it hit him full on. It was that same warm, pungent odor like proving bread that he’d noticed before. Yet, it seemed to have taken on further dimension since then. Vincent’s face, handsome in the glow of the firelight, swam back to Kaz’s recollection. He took another heady breath, and the blood rushed delightfully through his cock.

Scrunching the kerchief right up against his face, Kaz began to pump himself vigorously and inhaled deeply. He recalled the touch of Vincent’s hand and the warmth of that big dick against his own. He thought on some of the naughtier things Vince had said to seduce him, and he wondered about the things Vince still had in store for him. He remembered how good it had felt to snog Vincent Danvers in that private, secret room of his. He thought of how good it felt to know that, after years of keeping his lips shut whenever his mates or parents talked about the ‘girlfriends’ he would someday hope to woo, he had finally met someone – a boy – who wanted to sweep him off his feet.

Then, as he thought of the voracious, predatory look in Vincent’s eyes, Kaz sighed with a voice so soft it was hardly even a breath, “ _Please…_ ” His mind flickered over a half-dozen other faces that had caught his eye in the past. He thought of the junior scroll-keeper at the Onmyoudo compound back in Japan, whose name he had never had the guts to ask. He thought of Dan Curry, a Ravenclaw prefect who had graduated a year ago. He thought of Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain one year ahead of him; of Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor beaters in the year behind; of Cedric Digory, the Hufflepuff in his potions class to whom Kaz always spoke with unerringly formal politeness; and of Professor Lockhart with his disarming, airheaded smile.

Most regarded him as little more than a slight novelty, and Wood probably didn’t even know that he existed. None of them knew how he thought of them, and he doubted they would have cared even if they did. Yet when Vincent’s intense turquoise eyes locked on him, Kaz saw a reflection of his own sexual appetite staring back at him. He went weak whenever Vincent touched him because it was such a blessed relief to feel hands – a _man’s_ hands – touching his body with unapologetic desire. And as Kaz huffed ever deeper at the Slytherin’s strong, pureblood musk, he realized that what he wanted more than anything in the world was for Vincent Danvers to devour him. He wanted to be tied to Vincent’s bed, to drink in the boy’s mind-consuming kisses, and to surrender every last piece of his body with willing helplessness.

_Please! Please, Vincent! Claim me! Own me! I’m yours! Take me, Master! I’m yours!_

Kaz stretched his mouth open in a noiseless scream and shot his load all over his chest and stomach. Before his climax was fully spent, a depressing weight of realism descended upon him and snuffed out his euphoria. He remembered the ambivalent, near-panic he’d felt just as Vincent had handed him the kerchief and… given him his instructions. It struck him at last with what good timing Danvers had given him that mind-numbing kiss. Right when Kaz was the most relaxed he’d been in the Slytherin’s presence, Danvers had done something else to control and degrade him.

And he’d fallen for it.

Exhausted and angry with himself, Kaz tugged off his night shirt, used the inside to dry off his torso, then let the soiled fabric drop to the floor outside his four poster. He would have let the kerchief fall beside it, but he couldn’t risk any of his dorm mates waking up before him and finding it, so it went back into the pocket of his robe again. After that, he let himself drop face down onto the mattress and bunched his pillow up around his head.

One thought remained before sleep finally overtook him. _If Omar is right about Vincent… If he’s right… If he’s…_ Sleep overtook him, leaving the thought unresolved.

***

“Oh my god… Kaz, your shoulder!”

Kaz was kneeling in front of his dresser and pulling out his robes for their Hogsmeade trip when Leo made that exclamation. Instantly he remembered the vicious bite that Vincent had given him, and he darted his hand up to cover it. _Damn it, Vince! What did you have to do that for?_ When he looked around, he saw Omar pause in the act of rolling up his prayer mat and glance at him sharply. He clearly had his own suspicions.

“It’s nothing,” Kaz said dismissively, looking further back to find Leonard’s face.

But Leo was grinning devilishly. “Oh my god… Kaz has got himself a girlfriend!”

Kaz flicked his gaze back to Omar and was gratified to see his own exasperation reflected back at him. “No, Leo, I don’t have a girlfriend,” Kaz said with deflating weariness.

“Oh really?” Leo was still grinning, but the crease in his brow showed that he’d caught the dry dismissal for what it was. “So… how _did_ you manage to get a hickey, then?”

Kaz glanced a third time at Omar, but he’d already turned to make sure his mat was tucked away securely. “It’s _not_ a hickey. It’s just a bruise. I was…” after the barest hesitation, he had a plausible story. “Last night in the bath, I sat my dumb ass with my shoulder underneath the faucet. Then I stood up in a hurry and…”

Leo winced without affect. “Christ… Does it still hurt?”

The ease with which Leo bought the lie gave Kaz confidence. He rolled his eyes. “It didn’t until you reminded me.”

Kaz finished getting dressed and left the dormitory. Before he’d reached the common room, Omar caught up and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Hey Kaz, I need to ask…” Omar’s voice was low and confidential. “This thing between you and Danvers… How serious is it?”

Tensely, Kaz considered the question. Omar had said that he didn’t mind being lied to, but it felt wrong to keep hiding from a friend who’d shown so much trust in him. Still… “I’m not sure,” Kaz answered, deciding to save the full story for later. “I mean… I guess I don’t know just yet. There are still some things I need to iron out.”

“Okay…” Omar pulled at his lip in concentration, then asked, “Does it worry you that he’s moving a bit fast? ‘Marking’ you after just one date?”

“A bit, yeah,” Kaz agreed with the tone of deliberate understatement. Omar’s use of the word ‘date’ didn’t register with him until after he’d already spoken, and he felt his cheeks coloring. “But… well, I guess that’s another of the things I’ll have to get ironed out with him.”

Omar visibly untensed. “Okay, good. Just wanted to make sure you’re seeing what I am.”

Kazuma’s chest untensed as well, and a small laugh flowed out with his breath. “Right. Well, I’ve got to send a letter. See you at breakfast?”

Omar nodded. “See you there.”

Kaz went up to the owlery and drafted a letter each to his parents. The first was a brief progress report to assure his mother, Cassandra Kent, that he was keeping up with his NEWT’s. The letter to his father, Lawrence Kent, was a little more personal. It needed to be. Both would have to be sent to the ministry, since none of the owls in the Hogwarts owlery were cleared for such long-distance travel, and from there it could be a month before his dad got the letter.

As well as the details of his academic progress, Kaz included a few notes on his private Onmyoudo studies, an entertaining anecdote from the previous week, and a few questions about his father’s studies. After these pleasantries were finished, Kaz spent a long minute leaning against one of the cleaner stone pillars and pondered whether or not to tell his dad anything about his situation. He dearly wanted to tell _someone_ , and he knew that his father would probably want to know. Though he usually tried not to think about it, it was his father who had bought him the centaur comic in the first place.

On Kaz’s 15th birthday, his dad had taken him to a muggle superstore in Japan, one level of which was dedicated to erotic literature. Surprisingly un-prudish for an American, his father had asserted that Kaz was old enough to have need for such things. He handed Kaz a velvet bag with a drawstring and went to stand in a corner while his son picked something out. Kaz had never felt himself blushing so hot for so long, but his dad’s discretion was at least enough to downgrade the memory from ‘traumatic humiliation’ to merely, ‘painful embarrassment.’

It was while wandering far from his father’s deliberately inattentive sentinel that Kaz had stumbled into the ‘teratophilia’ section and been perversely fascinated by images he passed. A lot of the material was downright revolting. In particular, he remembered his stomach churning at a cover that showed a dragon pinning a frightened human to a wall and shoving its enormous tongue half-way down the man’s throat. All too vividly, Kaz remembered the unmistakable cunning in the slant of the dragon’s eyes.

In the end, he’d chosen the centaur comic because it was one of the tamer pieces on the shelf, and yet it had managed to get him throbbing hard at first sight – in spite of the overpowering sense of anxiety. As promised, his father took the book, unseen, to the counter and looked the other way while the cashier rang it up. It was a good three hours before they could bear to look at each other, and his father had only ever made one oblique reference to “your birthday gift” since then.

Kaz’s face was hot just from the recollection. It seemed impossible that it had really happened such a short time ago. Now, he felt a stab of resentment about the whole event. At the time, Lawrence Kent had waved down his objections by asserting, “I remember what it was like to be your age. Trust me, you’ll be glad that you have it later.” For a little while, he seemed to have been in the right. Now, though, Kaz was considering whether or not to write, ‘ _By the way, you remember my 15 th birthday present? A classmate stole it and used it to blackmail me. I won’t say I told you that it was a bad idea, but I think I did mention that I could get in trouble for it at the time._’

In the end, he stoppered the ink bottle without mentioning his troubles. If Danvers had been rifling through his bag with the intent to blackmail him all along, he probably would have taken his master’s divining board anyway. That much, at least, was his own fault and not his father’s.

Just as he was starting to seal the letter, Kaz remembered the request Professor Hagrid had made to him, and he stopped to scrawl out a hasty post-script. _By the way, the new Care of Magical Creatures professor has gotten himself in a spot of trouble. A hippogriff attacked a 3 rd year student. Rumor has it that it may have been the fault of the student’s conduct, but the professor and his hippogriff are being blamed regardless. It would be nice if I could lend the professor some help in his defense case. Could you make a few inquiries about ‘dangerous creature’ policy in Japan when you get the chance? I don’t expect a miracle. _

He signed the letter to the International Redirection Office. The patter of raindrops on the roof had started some minutes ago, so he cast an Impervious charm on both letters after sealing them. Then, after calling for any owls who weren’t afraid to go out in the rain and choosing the one he thought looked sleekest and most waterproof, Kazuma sent the letters off and went down to breakfast.

***

There was only a drizzle when it came time for their visit to Hogsmeade, but the students were still grateful that carriages had been summoned. Kaz, Omar, and Leo were careful to pick a carriage without any of the cringe-inducingly excitable third years. Leo was preemptively bragging about the entire galleon he intended to spend at Honeydukes, cholesterol be damned. Omar and Kaz dutifully cajoled him about how he would be needing that galleon for new school robes if he ate that much candy, but they all knew it was an empty joke. Leonard had the most infuriatingly efficient metabolism.

The conversation lulled as a cold breeze rushed through the carriage window. Suddenly and without explanation, Kazuma pulled his legs up into the lotus position, locked his hands together in the Toh _mudra_ , and shut his eyes. Recognizing the meditative stance, Omar looked at him quizzically. “Is this the best time for that?”

It was Leonard who answered. “Uh… I think it might be, yeah…” Sitting on Kaz’s right, he had seen the same thing that Kaz had.

Omar half-rose from his seat to peer out the window toward the castle gate. “ _Shit!_ ” he swore, then fell back into his seat. Moving back as they approached, but still far too close for comfort, the dementors were on guard. The excitable chatter from the carriages behind them fell silent as they drew to within the dementors’ sphere of influence. Now it made sense why the carriages had been summoned for just a little drizzle. If all the students were forced to walk past the guards on foot, some might not make it.

After a moment, Kaz shifted his hands into the Jin _mudra_ and spoke without opening his eyes. “Lads, I’m going to need my concentration for a minute. Just give me a shake when we’re well clear of them.” Without any further explanation, his lips started to move in a chant almost too soft to overhear. “ _On hirota kisha nogajiba tai sowaka on chiri chi ibaro… on hirota kisha nogajiba tai sowaka on chiri chi ibaro_ …” The three Ravenclaws heard the rattling breath of the dementors as Kaz was reciting the chant for a third time. Leo and Omar sagged, their eyes turning glassy. Kazuma’s constant, unwavering voice, carrying on methodically in its relentless rhythm and barbarous syllables, sounded threatening and alien. Leonard put his hands to his ears and was on the verge of begging Kaz to shut up.

Then, just as Kaz began his sixth repetition, the tension broke. It was still frigid cold, but they could hear the grinding of the carriage wheels outside, and the air no longer seemed as dark and dreary. Leo and Omar looked around. Extending about two meters past the carriage windows, a semi-transparent bubble surrounded them. Its color seemed to shimmer and pulsate in time with Kazuma’s chanting, and his voice no longer rang so threatening in their ears. It was no Patronus charm, but whatever Kaz was doing seemed to keep them safe from the mental effects of the dementors.

Omar grinned and gave a whoop of triumph, but Leo hastily put a hand over his mouth and hissed, “Don’t! I don’t wanna know what’ll happen if Kaz loses his concentration before we’re rid of those things…” 

Kaz was brought out of his trance some minutes later once they had arrived in Hogsmeade. He opened his eyes to find Leo shaking his shoulder as if to wake him up. The excited bustle of Hogwarts students had resumed, their good cheer rekindled by the sight of the village.

“Kaz,” Leo said as they clambered out of the carriage, “If I ever talk guff about Japanese magic again, you have my permission to hex my lips right off.”

“What _was_ that, anyway?” Omar asked, taking the lead. He needed to get a few feet of parchment from Scrivenshaft’s before they stopped by Honeydukes.

“Just a little thing I worked out,” Kaz said hoarsely. His tongue felt dry and his lips were stiff from chanting. He shook his head and blinked, shaking off the fog from his trance. “It’s basically Occlumency, but built into a kind of field. I started practicing it after that night on the train.”

“Well I’m glad you did,” Leo said with a grin. “Tell you what, let me buy you a… Kaz, what’s the matter?”

Leo and Omar both stopped as Kaz hitched his breath and stumbled backward. His eyes were wide and frightened, and he was looking down around as thought he’d just seen a hornet buzzing nearby. A moment later, he jerked backward again, twisted his waist to the side, and moved as if to swat something off his chest.

Kaz’s heart was pounding and his heat rising. Omar and Leo started asking him what was the matter, but he was trying to find some sign of whatever had just been tugging at his robe. An involuntary squeak escaped him as something squirmed against his chest yet again. Now he was sure that it was in his robes, and he dug a hand into his robe to catch whatever it was before it could bite.

The instant his fingers closed around it, Kaz experienced a wash of relief mingled with a fresh wave of anxiety. The handkerchief Danvers had enchanted was squirming around in the pocket of his cloak. He’d almost forgotten about it. _Why does he need me_ now _?!_

“Kaz!” Omar called sharply. “What’s the matter?” Kazuma looked up. Omar and Leo were both staring at him as if he’d lost his mind, and he’d attracted queer looks from a few passersby as well.

Kaz felt himself sweat under their combined scrutiny, but thankfully he had a half-truth ready to hand. He gave a flustered laugh, moved his hand in his cloak, and drew out his wand. “My wand pocket has got a hole in it, and my wand was starting to shoot sparks against my chest. For a second there, I thought a bowtruckle had gotten under my cloak.” The last part was actually true. 

It was convincing enough for his friends to put their guards back down. Leo puffed his cheeks out and tried to pick up where he left off. “Well, like I was saying there… Why don’t you let me by you a box of licorice snaps when we get to… Hey are you listening?”

Kaz had his hand in his pocket again. The kerchief was still squirming, and he needed to get away from Leo and Omar so he could look at it without having to answer awkward questions. “Yeah, sounds great!” Kaz enthused distractedly. “Hey, why don’t I catch up with you two at Honeydukes? I have to run to Dervish and Banges. This wand this is gonna bother me until I get the pocket fixed.”

Omar arched an eyebrow. “You’d probably do better at Gladrags if it’s just a pocket you need stitched.”

“Yeah, good thinking!” Kaz said, nodding hastily. He was already pulling ahead of other two. “I’m just gonna go get that sorted out. I’ll meet you at Honeydukes as soon as I can.”

“O-okay…” Leo raised his hand half-heartedly. He and Omar both looked nonplussed as Kaz tore off without them.

Thankfully, Gladrags just close by, so Kaz was able to disappear without drawing too much suspicion. After tactfully deflecting the owner’s polite, ‘can-I-help-you-find-anything?’, Kaz retreated to a crowded rack of cloth accessories where he pretended to be engrossed in a selection of ties. Carefully, he withdrew the kerchief from his pocket. It went limp the instant it was past the hem of his cloak, and he started to inspect the corners like Danvers had told him.

Sure enough, stitched in threads of a paler green than the rest of the kerchief, the words, “ _The Three Broomsticks,_ ” had appeared in miniscule print where a tailor’s signature might have been. Kaz swore under his breath. He hadn’t expected Danvers to summon him this soon. For that matter, he’d never imagined that Danvers would want to meet him in public when all of their meetings so far had been relatively private. _Why does he have to do this_ now, _on the very first Hogsmeade weekend of the year? Doesn’t he suppose that I’d be out with my friends? Doesn’t he have friends of his own to hang out with?_

It was no use getting angry about it now. Reasonable as Danvers had sounded last night Kaz rather suspected that Vincent wouldn’t take kindly to being ignored. He would just have to go to the Three Broomsticks quickly, say that he wasn’t available at the moment, and get back to Honeydukes. _Why couldn’t he have made the damn thing communicate two-way?!_ Kazuma grumbled. With an empty promise to come back later for a pair of gloves, he slipped out of Gladrags and filed down the thoroughfare.

The Three Broomsticks wasn’t too crowded this early in the day, so Kaz and Danvers spotted one another almost as soon as he came through the door. Vincent was sitting alone at a table off to one side, waving Kaz over with a friendly grin. To Kazuma’s immediate exasperation, he saw two mugs of butterbeer waiting.

“Hey there, Kazzy!” Vince said with his winning smile, pulling out a chair for his Ravenclaw classmate. “I was beginning to wonder how long it would take you to get here. What, were you in one of the last carriages or something?”

“Something like that,” Kaz said wearily. Maintaining the ward against the dementors had been more tiring than he realized, and he knew his smile must have appeared tissue thin. He pointedly ignored the seat offered to him. “I actually can’t stay for very long. My friends are expecting me to catch up with them in Honeydukes.”

“So they don’t know that you’ve come to see me?” Kaz wasn’t sure he liked the cunning lilt in Danvers’ voice.

“I… told them I’d be coming right back,” Kaz answered reservedly. His eyes drifted over to the arm that hung lazily over the back of the chair offered to him, then back to Vincent’s beseeching frown.

“Don’t you miss me, Kazzy?” Kaz could tell that Vincent’s injured tone was affected, but couldn’t decide whether the Slytherin was trying to be cute or mocking. _What am I supposed to say to that, anyhow?_

“I just saw you last night,” he protested with something of a cajoling smirk.

The pout vanished immediately to be replaced by a look of friendly exasperation. “Don’t be cold, Kazzy. Just have _one drink_ with me. Your friends can wait that long, can’t they? Or are they more important to you than I am?” After this last question, Vincent pulled his face into a blandly smiling mask and started batting his eyelashes at Kazuma.

The pose succeeded in making Kaz laugh. Between that, and the question he knew better than to answer honestly, Kaz concluded that he might as well get this over with. “Alright, _one drink_.”

“There ya go!” Vincent gave Kaz a pat on the back and clunked their mugs together, then took a long pull at his butterbeer. Trying to get through his drink quickly, Kaz gulped for a few seconds longer than Vincent, and his tankard was more than half-empty when he set it back down.

Vince snickered at Kaz’s haste. Once again he rested his arm across the back of his companion’s chair. “Easy there, Kazzy. What, are you _that_ eager to get away from me?”

Kaz blushed and wiped foam away from his lip. “I already told you… My…” He hid his mouth behind the sleeve of his wrist and suppressed a belch. “My friends are expecting me.”

Vincent clicked his tongue and shook his head in dismay. “And here I thought you’d be happy to see me. You sure seemed eager for my company last night.”

A jolt of cold paranoia gripped the anxious Ravenclaw. He gripped his tankard again without lifting it to his lips. “What… does that mean, exactly?”

Vincent smirked. “Didn’t I tell you that I would know when you were huffing my essence like a good boy? I know for a fact I said that you didn’t actually have to _start_ until today. But you just couldn’t wait one more night.”

Kazuma flushed guiltily. Vince was speaking softly, and there’s no way anyone could overhear them over the noise, but still he glanced around hastily for eavesdroppers. He gripped his mug a little tighter. “That was… I woke up, and I just… I needed to so I could go back to sleep.” 

Vince was leaning in closer. Their knees were touching under the table. “Either way, you can’t blame me for thinking you needed some _attention_. I went to bed wishing I had my sweet Kazzy to cuddle with me. I was…” He leaned in close enough for his breath to tickle Kazuma’s ear as he spoke, “ _so_ happy when you started wanking for me. I thought you were missing me too.” He leaned back with a sigh. “Oh well… Guess you didn’t enjoy our tutoring session as much as I thought.”

“I _did_ enjoy it!” Kazuma argued sincerely, as much because it was true as because damaging Vincent’s ego would hurt his chances of getting the divining board back.

“But you don’t like my company,” Vincent countered.

“Of course I do,” Kaz said, letting a trace of his exasperation show. “I just have…”

He was about to say, ‘prior obligations,’ but then Vincent filled in, “Friends whose company you prefer.”

‘Yes’ was the honest answer, but Kaz knew he couldn’t say that. “It’s not a matter of whose company I prefer. We’ve been planning this weekend for over a week now.”

“And that’s more important than I am.” Vincent leaned his elbow on the table and rested his chin upon his hand, half-smiling, half-pouting at the flustered Ravenclaw. Kaz personally thought that his ‘cute’ act was starting to wear thin.

“You have friends in your own house, don’t you?” Kaz cajoled, still keeping up the cheery demeanor. “Won’t there be days when you want to spend time with them instead of me?”

Vincent’s expression didn’t change, but his voice took on a note of earnestness. “But I’ll always be willing to put you first when you really need me.”

This… was flattering. In spite of his irritation, Kaz couldn’t help but think so. He lifted his tankard closer to his face, then muttered into it, “Don’t say embarrassing things like that… You make it sound like you’re my… _b-boyfriend_ or something.” He started to gulp at the rest of his butterbeer.

Vincent watched him gulp for a moment. Suddenly, Kaz felt the taller boy slip a single finger under the collar of his shirt and slide back the fabric to expose the dark hickey. “And just what do you think this is, hm?”

Kaz swallowed the last gulp of butterbeer painfully and stamped the tankard back onto the table. With an effort, he fought back the impulse to shrug Vincent’s hand away. “You… What?” He looked up, then froze at the look in Danvers’ eyes.

His glance had taken on that sultry, studying quality it adopted whenever Vince was trying to seduce him. “I like you, Kaz. I like you a lot.” Effortlessly, he slid his chair closer and rested his entire palm on his companion’s shoulder. “Last night was… indescribable. I felt so happy when I was with you, and I… _think_ you were enjoying it too. You made me feel… important, the way you were looking at me. Your eyes were all but _begging_ me to make you mine. That’s why I put my mark on you.”

With that, Vincent rubbed the tips of two fingers against the hickey. The contact felt strangely good, but it sent a jolt through Kazuma’s body and galvanized his mind into action. Before Danvers could go any further, he slid his mug to the middle of the table, disentangled himself from his arm, and hopped onto his feet. “My drink’s done,” Kaz blurted. “I have to go. Leo and Omar are gonna be furious if I don’t show up soon.” Then at Vincent’s unhappy frown, he added, “I’m really sorry!”

The apology didn’t seem to lighten Danvers’ dark stare. Kaz was about to walk away in spite of this, but suddenly he found Vincent’s hand on his wrist. “I want you, Kaz. I want you to be my boyfriend.”

Kaz felt lightheaded. Too many emotions were running through him at once. He kept still so as not to draw attention, but could swear that he saw a witch across the room peering at them curiously. Kaz deliberately threw a meaningful glance at the door. “Can… Can we talk about this late… I mean, in a little while? Only I… I need time to… I mean…” He gulped. Danvers did not look impressed. “I just want… to be able to give it the time it deserves.”

Kaz manufactured a shaky smile and did his best to imitate Vincent’s easy, seductive manner. “C’mon… babe… I want to be able to give you my answer properly.”

The term ‘babe’ caught Vincent’s attention. By slow degrees, his hard stare melted into a lazy grin, and his grip on Kaz’s wrist loosened. “Alright, Kazzy. I’ll give you time to get yourself ready. Come find me back at the carriages at 5. After you’ve given me your answer, you can ride up to the castle with me.”

The relief Kaz was feeling from Danvers’ reprieve was shot out from under him by this new demand. “At… the carriages?”

“Yeah. When the Hogsmeade visit is over. That should give you enough time to mull it over.” He winked at Kaz. “Have fun till then, cutie.”

Kaz stood there for a moment, smiling blankly while his brain performed a hard reset. It was as though his mind had finally received one too many shocks and folded up its arms in protest. Meanwhile, Vincent just watched with a placid smile while Kaz stammered something along the lines of “see you then,” and made his way uncertainly out of the Three Broomsticks.

***

“There you are!” Leo cried five minutes later when Kazuma finally caught up and grabbed his shoulder. He and Omar were already in the checkout line by then. “I was starting to worry! Did you get lost or something?”

“No! Gladrags was helping another…” Kaz started to come up with an excuse, but when he saw the crease in Omar’s brow, he stopped and switched course. “Also, I… ran into someone on my way here.”

“Who?” Leo asked before Omar could.

Kaz feigned an interest in the boxes of jelly slugs and non-melting sorbet balls Leo was holding. “It was just… Vincent Danvers…” He could practically hear all of Omar’s joints clicking shut at the name.

Leo let out a short, barking laugh. “What, him again? He has to bother you even on a Hogsmeade weekend? I never knew he was _that_ bad at Transfiguration.”

“Danvers is also helping our Kaz out with his Charms, now,” Omar contributed. His tone was perfectly neutral, but Kaz felt his ears burning under his friend’s shrewd stare.

“Oh! Right.” Leo nodded, then clicked his tongue. “Still, this is a hell of a time to go about it. There ought to be a rule that discussion related to classes, studying, or homework are _strictly_ forbidden within the village.”

He said this loudly enough to be overheard, and he earned a small chorus of ‘hear, hear!’ from a few students. One of the Weasley twins, who was standing in line two places ahead of them, reached over the shoulder of a 4th year Hufflepuff girl to shake Leo’s bemused hand. “Just the kind of forward thinking we like to see from your house! When you graduate, be sure you apply for a governorship.” Then he tapped the side of his nose and resumed his place in line.

“Okay!” Leo said, a second too late for the reply to connect. He was still grinning dazedly.

Omar hadn’t allowed the uproar to distract him, however. “So what did he want, anyway?”

“Oh, well…” Kaz shifted uncomfortably. “It was mainly just a social call. He wanted to buy me a drink, and uh… invited me to take the carriage back to the castle with him.”

A packet of jelly slugs fell off the pile in Leo’s arms, and Kaz hastened to pick it up. “What for?” Leo said, a little indignantly.

“Well, we’ve…” Kaz was spared having to find an answer as Omar suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder.

“I’ve just realized we forgot to get your licorice snaps,” he said intently, dragging Kaz out of line. “Leo, you hold our places. We’ll be right back.”

“What? Uh… Okay,” Leo said nervously as his companions wove through the crowd.

Omar dragged Kaz all the way to the back of the store and cornered him between the blood pops and cockroach clusters where the crowd was thinnest. “Alright,” Omar said hotly. “First thing’s first. _Please_ tell me you didn’t agree to ride back to the castle with him.”

“I…” Kaz might have just stolen a handful of pepper imps for how red his ears were turning. “It happened so quickly, I… I sort of agreed…”

Omar was starting to have trouble keeping his face calm. His eyes were wide, and Kaz could actually see the hair on the back of his neck start to raise up. “But why? What’s he planning to do? And why did you agree?”

“I… I was…” Kaz swallowed. His mouth felt so dry in spite of his pint of butterbeer, but he couldn’t keep silent any longer. His chest and belly both ached from holding it inside. He _had_ to tell someone. He leaned in closer and spoke quietly enough that only Omar would be able to hear him over the din of the store. “He asked me to be… to be his boyfriend…”

Omar’s eyes were as wide as his open mouth. “And… what did you say?”

“Nothing,” Kaz said, starting to feel queasy. He found it was easier to keep his eyes focused on the rose of scarlet lollipops while he spoke. “He… he told me to give him my answer before we take the carriages.”

Omar’s breathing was audibly labored. “But… but you are… _going_ to say no, right?”

Kaz’s jaw worked while his lips remained fastened shut. It felt as though his stomach were trying to tunnel down into his feet. “I… I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“K… Kaz… Kazuma!” Omar grabbed Kaz’s forearm and shook it to get his attention. His ruddy complexion looked almost as pale as Kazuma’s. “Kaz, you’re scaring me. You can’t seriously be thinking about this. Danvers is bad news! You see that right? I mean… I get that you have fewer choices at Hogwarts than most people, but…” He licked his lips. “But _Danvers?!_ I ask you.”

Kaz didn’t have an answer. He avoided Omar’s eyes while his skin prickled hotly beneath his robes.

Omar continued, “I mean, if it was somebody half-decent – that Hufflepuff, Digory, for instance – then I’d be all for it. But even then… hasn’t it occurred to you that he’s taking things awfully quickly? The two of you haven’t even been on first-name terms for a full week yet!”

“I… I mean, yeah,” Kaz muttered. He was trying to work up the courage to tell Omar some portion of the truth. 

Mistaking Kaz’s attitude for evasiveness, Omar pressed with a note of panic. “Kaz, you told me this morning that you don’t trust Danvers either. Why would you let him buy you a drink? Why are you getting into a carriage with him now? How can you possibly be thinking about… about a…” He swallowed hard, looking vaguely queasy. Finally, he just managed to mouth the word _‘relationship’_ before finishing aloud, “with him?”

“I…” Kaz was almost shaking with shame and fear. It felt as though his head were cooking under the stress.

“You never went to Gladrags at all, did you?” Omar asked, suddenly accusatory. “You were planning to meet up with him the whole time.”

“I was not!” Kaz’s hissed retort was so loud, and so vicious, that a number of other shoppers glanced their direction in alarm. Kaz ducked his head, then took a few deep, slow breaths to try and calm himself. He held up a hand to stop Omar before he could go any further and just breathed. Finally, in a voice calm, though cracked, he said, “Omar… I _have_ to ride with him. I don’t want to, but I don’t have a choice anymore. I _have_ to do it. And I have to agree to be his boyfriend too.”

Omar was stunned. He stood there watching his companion, looking a little green around the gills. “I… I don’t understand, Kaz… Why…”

Kaz shook his head. He’d finally made up his mind. “Tonight. I can’t tell you now – not with so many people around. I promise that tonight, I’ll give you the full story.”

Omar was quiet for a moment. He still looked fearful, but he also seemed more in control now. “Kaz?” he asked at length. “Are you in trouble?”

Mutely, Kazuma swallowed, then nodded. His whole body was starting to tremble, and he felt himself to be on the verge of tears. _I should never have left Japan. I should have begged to stay with Dad at any cost. I’d have been a certified Onmyouji by now and never have to deal with…_

A warm hand closed around his, and Kaz looked up to find Omar’s brown eyes staring into his with warm sympathy. “It’s okay, Kaz. Everything’s going to be okay.”

In Saudi Arabi, men often held hands with each other. This was something Omar had told Kazuma during their 2nd year, and it was one of the things he missed most about living in the UAE. Kaz knew, therefore, that this literally was nothing but a friendly gesture. Even so, the contact was a relief. Unbidden, Kaz’s _second sight_ activated for an instant while they were holding hands, and he saw that Omar’s aura was the same color as his own. They were standing in a bubble not unlike the one he had cast to protect them from the dementors on their way into the village.

Kaz gave Omar a weak smile. “Thank you…” A few thick tears seeped from his eyes, but he drew in his breath sharply and swallowed them back.

“Don’t thank me,” Omar said seriously, giving Kaz’s hand a squeeze. “This is just what family do for each other. You, Leo… even Travers, slob that he is. You’re all family to me.” 

Kaz didn’t know if he could feel the same way… but he sorely wished that he could, just then. He wiped his face with a sleeve. “Well… Thanks anyway, Omar. It’s that kind of thinking that makes you so special. I don’t know how I’d get through this without you.”

Omar blushed just slightly. With a quirk of the lips, he rolled his eyes and said wryly, “Okay, now… _Now_ you’re really starting to sound gay.”

A giggle was wrung out of Kaz, but it was he himself who eventually had to pull his hand free of Omar’s grip. He felt suddenly warm and light in a way no amount of butterbeer could impart. At last, they wove their way back to the queue where a frantic Leonard was almost too furious to be relieved by their reappearance.

“What kept you two?! You’d have had to get at the back of the line if you’d taken any longer.”

As it was, Omar had to discreetly set the box of licorice wands he’d grabbed on top Leo’s pile so that nobody would accuse them a queue jumping. “They were all out of snaps.”

Kaz considered whether or not to mention that he didn’t actually like black licorice – wands or snaps – but finally decided against it. He could always find someone else in the common room to take them.

Kaz almost succeeded in enjoying the rest of the time with Leo and Omar. Leo remained blissfully unaware of Kaz’s troubles, and Omar was able to make a very pleasant distraction of himself. By the time they entered the Three Broomsticks, Danvers had already cleared off.

Eventually, however, 5 o’clock drew near, and they started to make their way back to the carriages. “Ready to do your thing again, Kaz?” Leo asked, nudging him in the ribs.

“Huh?” Kaz had been a little distracted till then.

“You know, you’re Onmyoudo thing.” He imitated the mudra Kaz had used earlier. “To ward those dementors off.”

“Oh…” Kaz grimaced apologetically. “I can’t. I’m riding with Vincent, remember?”

“With… With Danvers?” Leo was visibly dismayed. “I didn’t think you were actually going through with that.”

As though in answer, Danvers appeared out of the crowd and slung an arm around Kazuma’s shoulders. “Alright, Kazzy? Ready to go?” Then he noticed who Kaz was standing with. “Ah, Khoury!” he said with artificial brightness. “Looks like I’m stealing him from you again.”

“Doesn’t bother me,” Omar said with a disinterested shrug.

“Since when are you two so chummy?” Leo asked pointedly, looking between Vincent and Kaz.

Kaz held his breath while Vince scoped his gaze over Leo. “Oh, we turn out to have a lot in common, Kazzy and me. I expect I’ll be seeing a lot of him from now on.”

Leo looked between the two of them, unsure how to take this news. Omar, however, kept his gaze steadily on Danvers. His eyes betrayed no emotion other than bored aloofness, but Kaz couldn’t help but worry how much Danvers was able to read. “I’ll… see you back up at the castle,” Kaz said, hoping to dispel the tension.

“Oh… Right. See you then.” Leo gave them a wave, already dreading the ride past the dementors.

Vincent only led Kaz a few paces away to get them out of earshot before he stopped and turned the shorter Ravenclaw to face him. The predatory gleam in his eyes contrasted frighteningly with his otherwise warm expression. “So Kaz…” His hand found its way to Kazuma’s and held it. It was neither any colder than Omar’s, nor any tighter than Omar’s, and yet Vincent’s grip felt neither as warm nor as gentle. “What do you say? Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

Kaz had dedicated a depressingly large chunk of the last few hours imagining how this moment would play out. It had subtracted from his enjoyment of the weekend, but at least he had his answer ready. With a smile of seemingly sincere gladness, Kaz met Vincent’s eyes and said warmly, “It would be an honor.”

Vincent’s excitement was palpable. Kaz thought he could feel it spreading up his arm like electricity. As though he’d read the desire through Danvers’ thrumming pulsed, Kaz realized that Vincent was going to kiss him, and he hastily turned his face away. “Oh god… I can’t believe this is really happening…” The sentiment was perfectly true, though he made sure his inflection sounded giddily bashful.

“I know,” Vincent said warmly. He gave Kaz’s hand another squeeze and nuzzled the top of his head. It was more or less at this point that Kaz noticed the half dozen people who were staring at them and whispering.

“Um… Hadn’t we better get going?” he said nervously, still not meeting Vincent’s gaze.

Vince chuckled. “Sure. Let’s go, sweetie.” Without relinquishing Kazuma’s hand, he led his new boyfriend to a carriage near the front of the queue. A group of 5 Slytherins – mostly girls – was waiting for them.

Kaz, still blushing from being called ‘sweetie,’ could feel his guts freezing as the Slytherins turned to meet them. The closest one, a girl with a sharp nose and lank black hair, looked at Vincent, at Kaz, and then at the clasped hands between them. She covered her mouth and gasped loud enough to draw the attention of everyone standing nearby.

“Wait!” She squeaked. She began to point to each of their faces and their hands in turn. “So… Do does this mean…” Then all at once, she turned to the blond fifth-year girl beside her and began squealing and beaming delightedly. “He said yes! He said yes! He said yes!” And they were both jumping up and down, giggling excitedly.

Kaz had just enough time to wish he could spontaneously disintegrate before the girls rushed forward to pull Vincent and Kazuma into a group hug. Now that he stood here, he realized how ridiculous it would have been to suppose that Vincent had a carriage all to himself – or even a carriage for only two. Still, when he’d imagined the prospect of taking a carriage ride with Vincent, there had only been the two of them in the vision. He certainly hadn’t imagined a gaggle of giggly girls riding with them, and he wasn’t sure he liked the change.

More pressing than that, however, was the fact that his secret was now out. His “relationship” with Vincent Danvers could no longer remain a covert affair. The students who had seen them holding hands already would no doubt spread the rumor on the way up to the castle, and now these Slytherin girls would start parading the news all over the school. His ears seemed to be covered by a thick woolen blanket as these revelations swept over him, and he found himself clutching at Danvers’ hand with a savage, shaking fist.

“Ooh, he’s every bit as cute as you said!” The black-haired girl was saying, though Kaz was only dimly aware of it. In the background, the other three Slytherin girls were whispering behind their hands and giggling intermittently while they watched.

At a touch on his arm, Kaz looked up. Vincent was smiling at him reassuringly. “Take it easy. It’s gonna be okay.” The gentleness of his voice made Kaz feel abashed, and he relaxed his grip a little.

“Kent! Hey Kent!” Kaz looked up, realizing that the blond girl had been trying to get his attention for a few second now.

“Ah… yes?”

She pointed to herself, smiling. “Do you recognize me? Remember back in 2nd year? Well… 3rd for you, it would have been.”

“I, uh… Wait… Yes! I do.” He thought for a moment, trying to place her face. “Weren’t you… Leo’s friend in the Gob stones club… Stern?”

She grinned prettily. “You can call me Hellen. Good to see you again.”

“It’s… good to see you too.” Kaz felt dizzy after jumping from one emotion to another so constantly, but it was good to see that there was going to be at least one friendly face aboard the carriage.

As if in contrast to this, another one of the Slytherin girls walked up. She was a fourth year, he thought – freckly, with a round face and strawberry-blond hair. She gave Kaz a daring, direct grin. “Hey Kent… I just want to let you know that before you came along, I had the _biggest_ crush on Vinny. If he’s happy with you, then that’s fine by me. But if you break his heart…” She pounded a fist into her open palm. “I’ll break your face.”

Kaz felt a cold chill run down his spine. He recognized immediately that this was just banter, but that didn’t stop him from feeling a moment’s panic as he recalled his plan to break all connection with Vincent as soon as he had his divining board back. He didn’t even know her name yet, even though she knew his. With Kaz and Vincent’s ‘relationship’ made public, how would all of these fawning girls – girls who had obviously been taken in by Vincent’s charms for years now – react if he dishonored their friend by breaking up with him? How far would they go to get back at him on Danvers’ behalf?

Thankfully, he was spared having to reply as Vincent guffawed and reached forward to grind his palm against the girl’s freckly forehead. “Here! Don’t you start threatening my boyfriend in front of me, brat!”

“What? I’m just looking out for you, Vinny!” she whined, still grinning happily.

The one other boy in their group – Patterson, if Kent remembered his name right – had a hand on the carriage door and was looking at his watch pointedly. He had a somewhat forward-jutting bone structure about the jaw and eyes, accompanied by rather full lips and very round eyes that gave him a calculating, solicitous countenance. “Let’s not keep the horses waiting any longer,” he wheedled. “I’m eager to get back. You two can always snog on the way, if it’s so important to you.”

The girls shrieked delightedly, and Kazuma cast a longing look over his shoulder to where Leo and Omar were climbing into a carriage with a pair of Gryffindor 3rd years. Then Danvers gave Kaz a tug and started moving him toward the carriage. However, a fact suddenly occurred to Kazuma, and he tried to dig his feet into the slightly damp soil to voice it.

“There are 7 of us!” Kaz announced. “The carriages are only meant to fit 6.” He was, it immediately became apparent, the only one who cared.

“It’s fine!” Hellen Stern said with a wave of the hand. “You can just sit in your boyfriend’s lap! We won’t mind.”

_Fujoshi_. Kaz had barely been acquainted with the word when he left Japan, and he’d never gotten why they were considered so onerous. Now, in a country whose language had no comparable term, “rotten girls” seemed rather an appropriate title. Their delighted laughter went on and on until it began to sound not only annoying, but _hostile_.

Now almost catatonic with humiliation, Kaz found himself cramped into the stifling carriage with 6 Slytherins, sitting on the lap of his blackmailer while 4 giggly girls gushed and crooned over them. And just to top it all off, even while sitting in his lap, Vincent was still taller than Kazuma by a full inch. _The injustice of it all._

As the carriage pulled out and made its way up the road, Stern suddenly sat up and patted Vincent’s new boytoy on the knee. “Ooh, Kaz! You are _sooooo_ lucky to be riding with us back from Hogsmeade. Vince does a _great_ Patronus charm!”

“A…” Kaz paled slightly. He’d forgotten all about the dementors. Leo and Omar would be riding without him. The dementors would take their ‘tithe’ from his friends after the joy they’d experienced in Hogsmeade.

“Oh, it’s really fantastic!” The lank-haired girl said excitedly. “It’s really, really strong and all! He cast it on our way down to the village, and we didn’t feel a thing from the dementors! You’ll do it again for us, won’t you, Vinny?”

Vincent chuckled, and Kaz could have sworn his felt a stirring against his thigh as his new boyfriend received their praise. “I think I could manage that. But…” He ran his fingers along Kaz’s waist, making him shiver. “It might help if I had a little ‘inspiration.’”

Kaz looked around. The girls, predictably, giggled at Vincent’s suggestion. Patterson, who had been staring out the window, glanced at him with an understated smirk, and Kaz hastily broke eye contact to look at Vincent. His new boyfriend’s expression was both hungry and inviting.

“Oh, go on!” Stern encouraged. “Give us a kiss! I’ve never actually _seen_ two boys kiss before!”

“Oh, yes!” The freckly 4th year effervesced. “It would be sooooo cute!”

Against his will, a grin began to creep up Kazuma’s lips. He could feel a hot blush scalding his skin from his sternum to the roots of his scalp, and his cheeks tugged his mouth into a crescent despite his best efforts to hold it neutral. It was as though his body, aware of the Slytherin’s scrutiny, was trying to lie on his behalf by showing a face of enjoyment.

“What do you say, Kazzy?” Vincent asked, lifting Kaz’s chin to stare at him eye-to-eye. “Shall we give the girls a nice show?”

“O… Okay…” Kaz couldn’t even hear his own voice as he weakly whispered the words. So after saying it, he closed his eyes and leaned forward a centimeter.

A second later, Kaz felt Vincent’s lips pressed against his. The delighted shrieks all around them were partially muffled by the pounding of hot blood in his own ears. His hands felt numb and shaky. His feeling of lightheadedness within the stuffy carriage increased, and he gripped tight onto Vincent’s robe to that he didn’t fall of his lap.

Then, one of Vince’s strong hands cradled the back of his head, and the taller boy’s tongue pushed through his lips. Kaz tried to pull away, but Vincent held him in place. He tried to eject the invading tongue with his own and seal off his mouth, but even the boy’s tongue was strong enough to overpower him. Meanwhile, the girls were all gasping, squealing, and giggling with paroxysms of delight. He even heard Patterson give a sharp, “ _Damn!_ ” under his breath.

The entire kiss couldn’t have lasted a full 10 seconds, but Kaz’s humiliation made it seem like hours. When Vincent finally released him, grinning lazily with the high of triumph, Kaz immediately buried his face against the front Vince’s robes. He didn’t want to look at any of the other Slytherins. He didn’t want them to see him grinning from ear to ear and think he had enjoyed putting on a show for their benefit. Unfortunately, they seemed to enjoy it anyway.

“Oh my god, that was so hot!”

“That was _adorable!_ You two make the cutest couple, I swear!”

“Aw, look! Kent is so shy! How sweet.”

“I’m so glad you two got together. You’re honestly so good for each other.” This last exclamation in particular cut to Kaz’s very core. He hoped to god that it wasn’t true.

Meanwhile, Vince pet Kaz’s back and stroked his hair soothingly. His chest vibrated with a low, rumbling chuckle. Beneath his buttocks Kaz felt Vincent’s erection pounding as hard as it had ever felt. _Which part has gotten him so hard?_ Kaz wondered with a mixture of disgust and dread. _Does he just get a thrill from showing off? Or is it the fact that he’s embarrassing me in front of his friends?_

“And what did _you_ think, Ignus?” Vincent asked, still cradling his bashful boyfriend. “You seemed to really be taking in the spectacle.”

Patterson chuckled, then said dryly, “I’ll admit, it was _interesting_ to watch how you made him squirm just then. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.” Vincent’s cock gave another powerful throb. Kazuma whimpered and buried his face even harder into Vince’s robes.

“Easy now,” Vince whispered, stroking Kaz’s back encouragingly. “It’s okay, sweetie. Everyone enjoyed it!” This did nothing to help. Then after a chuckle, Vincent said, “Here. Watch this.”

He pulled Kaz back by the shoulder with one hand and fished out his wand. Unable to hide, Kaz obediently watched the tip of Vincent’s wand so he wouldn’t have to look at any of the others. With another squeeze, Vince held his arm aloft and confidently declared, “ _Expecto patronum!_ ” A jet of dense, silvery mist shot from the tip of Vincent’s wand like a vine of white, liquid gold. Then it kept going. And going.

With a jolt, Kaz realized that the Patronus _wasn’t_ just mist. It was a corporeal Patronus. It was a snake. The serpent circled around the ceiling of the carriage in rapid, undulating rings until its entire body had emerged. Then it turned towards its master and wrapped itself around Vince and Kaz in loose, heavy coils. As Kazuma watched, the snake flared a great hood out from either side of its head and nudged itself against his cheek. It felt like polished marble that had been lying out in the sun for hours, and yet Kaz shivered at the touch. Vincent’s Patronus was a _cobra._

The blond, freckly girl shuddered at the snake as well, but her smile didn’t falter. “I swear, that Patronus is downright _sexy!_ ” she breathed, then glanced around at the others. “I mean, come on! A _king cobra!_ ”

“It’s not a king cobra, Nora,” Ignus Patterson commented dryly. “Their hoods don’t flare as widely as that.” Nobody seemed especially bothered by this.

“It’s damn impressive, whatever it is,” said the girl with lank, black hair. “I’d swear it looks even stronger than your last one!”

Vincent grinned. “You’re right about that.” Kaz stiffened at the squeeze of Danvers’ hand on his thigh. He turned and was immediately pinned in place by the look Vince was giving him. In the bright light cast by his Patronus, Vincent’s pale green eyes reflected pure silver, both frightening and beautiful at once. Kaz’s heart stopped. Vince lifted his free hand and stroked Kazuma’s mahogany tresses. For the barest instant, Kaz felt as though the carriage were empty, and Vincent were speaking to him alone.

“Right now,” Vince cooed, low and intimate, “I’m the happiest I’ve ever felt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you feel like this chapter was a little bit all-over-the-place, then rest assured that I share your feelings. I had a lot that I wanted to get out in this chapter, and some details took longer to elaborate than I'd expected. I hope it was enjoyable for all of that. 
> 
> Things are going to get tricky from here on. I have a few ideas about what's going to happen next, but the inter-connecting bits are a little fuzzy. I guess there are going to be a few time-jumps in the near future. Perhaps I'll do a filler chapter where time-turning Hermione makes a cameo. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading, and for your patience! I didn't think this chapter would take so long to get out XD 
> 
> I suppose I ought to say this: HP fanfic seems not to be so popular recently, and a quick glance at twitter makes it easy to see why. It hasn't been enjoyable watching the author of one of my favorite series make such a fool of herself. I think it's pretty safe to say that her creation has outgrown her - its fandom certainly has. My work doesn't really speak to trans issues, but it IS at least a story about an LGBT drama in a wizarding-world context. That's more than Rowling has ever written. I hope this work is a fitting contribution to the dialogue, and more specifically to the camp that says: "We don't need you anymore, J.K. This is ours now." 
> 
> So once more, for those of you who have stuck with me on this journey, my most heartfelt thanks.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kazuma confides the entire misadventure up to now with Omar. Together, the two of them are going to work out a plan.

That night, Kaz and Omar sequestered themselves in an empty Muggle Studies classroom just after dinner, and Kaz painstakingly gave Omar the story. He started with how his father had purchased the centaur comic for him back in Japan, then how Danvers had confiscated it, how he had stolen the divining board without Kaz’s knowledge, and how Danvers was now holding the board hostage. For Kaz, confessing the story was like extracting an especially stubborn splinter: uncomfortable, painful, tortuously prolonged, and immensely satisfying once it was over.

When it came to the handkerchief, however, Kaz told Omar only that Vincent used it to arrange where they would meet, leaving out that he was expected to masturbate with it every night. Kaz couldn’t see any benefit to sharing that piece of information, and he felt sure that Omar would sleep better for not knowing. If Omar suspected the omission, he had the tact not to say anything.

By the end however, his hands were shaking, and his eyes blazed with suppressed anger. Kaz watched as Omar struggled with himself. Partly he felt relieved and gratified to know that his friend cared so much about him, but mostly he felt guilty about the mess he was in. He couldn’t help but feel that if he’d only been smart enough to keep himself out of trouble, Omar would never have needed to get involved.

Without preamble, and with eyes fixed on the opposite wall, Omar asked, “Are you alright?”

The broadness of the question caught Kaz off guard. It was a moment before he could hone his distracted mind on the question, and then another few seconds before he’d disseminated his feelings. “Not entirely, but… I’m still intact. Outside of the blackmail, he hasn’t… done anything… _really_ horrible to me.”

When Omar spoke again, his voice came out stiff and bitter. “You mean… apart from outing you to the entire school without your consent.”

Kaz flushed hotly as his mind flashed back to the unbearably awkward dinner of less than two hours ago. All of the Slytherin upperclassmen had smiled and waved at him, and a few even called out words of congratulation. This had sparked the other Ravenclaws’ curiosity, and by the time pudding was served, everyone in the Great Hall knew that Kazuma Kent and Vincent Danvers were an item.

Kaz swallowed hard, shifting uncomfortably on one of the classroom’s wooden seats. “Yes, he… did… do that…”

Omar was resting his chin on his hands with his fingers locked together. His knuckles were going white from clenching them so hard. “And then made sure that if you ever manage to break away from him, you’ll still get backlash from the other Slytherins who will think that you ‘broke his heart.’”

A cold pit settled in the middle of Kazuma’s stomach. The thought had already occurred to him on its own while he was still in the carriage with the Slytherins, but hearing it from Omar’s lips made the possibility seem all the more certain. “Y-yeah.. that too…”

Omar closed his eyes and took a long, shuddering breath. Kaz couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his friend – patient, soft-spoken, contemplative Omar Khoury – this angry at someone. He looked like a bundle of cords all twisted up and ready to snap.

Kaz looked away, ashamed. “I’m… I’m sorry…”

Omar took another slow, deliberately patient breath. “It’s…” Then his eyes snapped open. “What?”

Kaz flinched at the sharp tone. “I… I said… I said I’m sor-”

“What the bloody hell do you have to be sorry for?” Omar demanded hotly, disentangling his fingers and sitting up straight to glare at Kazuma. “Answer me that, Kent. How in God’s name do you blame yourself for this?”

Kaz tried to hold Omar’s gaze, but it was like trying to stare directly at the sun. “I… I should never have brought that comic to school. If Vincent hadn’t found it-”

“Travers got caught with porn in our fourth year,” Omar scoffed. “He had a week’s detention and that was that.”

Kaz bit his lip. “But still, I-”

“ _But still_ ,” Omar cut him off, “Danvers shouldn’t have been rooting around in your bag to begin with. He had no right.” By now, Omar was gripping the edge of the desk as he tried to master himself. Abruptly he sat up with renewed energy and began to gesture wildly as he spoke. “And another thing! That board of yours _isn’t_ contraband! He had _absolutely_ no right to take it! And that stupid excuse he gave about trying to ‘ _rehabilitate_ ’ you…” He pronounced the word as though it were something bitter, then carried on, “That sounds like some excuse he pulled right out of his ass. Don’t play the game his way, Kaz. You’re better than him.”

Kaz felt a little of the tightness in his chest slacken at these words. He half-glanced at Omar with a grateful smile.

Omar wasn’t finished yet. “Honestly… I suspected from the beginning that he must have had it in for you. Now, knowing that his Patronus is a snake, I’m almost sure of it. It fits too well.”

Now Kaz looked full at Omar, but his friend was staring off into the distance again with his chin on his fist and his brows knitted in contemplation. Kaz, however, felt a fresh uncertainty brewing in his belly. “That’s… something that’s been troubling me, though…”

Omar looked back at Kaz quizzically. “What is?”

Kaz bit his lip. “In the carriage… The girls said that the Patronus he cast in front of me was more powerful than his first one. And he said that it was easier to cast the second time. That it was…” Kaz cringed a little under the look Omar was giving him but managed to finish, “.. he said it was the happiest he’d ever felt.”

Omar’s dark brows were pinched in an expression not unlike pity. “And… do you believe that?”

“That’s just it!” Kaz pressed. Here at last was the nub of the thing that had been worrying him since Danvers first produced his silvery, serpent guardian. “I _can’t_ doubt it. It’s a Patronus! That’s complicated, powerful magic – the sort of thing that takes tremendous concentration. Concentration I wouldn’t expect from someone as distractible as Danvers. And yet, he made it look easy. You can’t _fake_ a Patronus like that.”

“Tch…” Omar looked away unhappily, but he was rubbing his lips thoughtfully. “There… may be something to that…” he conceded ruefully. He thought about it for a moment, then said, “Still… Happiness is subjective. How do you know it was _you_ making him happy? Maybe he was just happy to see you squirm.”

Kazuma straightened, unaccountably stung by the remark. “You don’t know that!”

His companion seemed to reel at the sudden retort. A scowl flashed across his face, then faded as though it were only a passing cloud. “Fine. Maybe I don’t.” He wasn’t quite as able to keep the impatience out of his voice. “But you’ll forgive me if I have trouble looking for the good in this guy after I just learned how he’s violated your personal space, coerced you into fooling around with him, and… generally been playing you like a fiddle. I’m _so. Sorry!_ If my view of him seems a little pessimistic.”

Kaz felt his temper flare up at Omar’s acid sarcasm, but it wasn’t enough to let him ignore the good sense in his friend’s advice. He bared his teeth angrily for a moment, then sat back deflated. “I just…” He rummaged through his head for the right words, then sank his head into his hands. “I just want this to turn out alright. I’ve never…” The thought was at the edge of his consciousness. His mind raced, sliding one word after another over the amorphous _concept_ in his head, trying one phrase after another like trying to finish a difficult jigsaw. 

“What?” Omar asked, still frustrated but somewhat more composed.

Kaz clenched his eyes shut and squeezed his head. His heart was racing. “I’ve never… It’s… He’s…” He grit his teeth again. He was starting to see spots on the backs of his eyelids.

After half a minute of silence, Omar spoke up, his voice now mellowed with concern. “… Kaz? What’s…”

“No one’s ever fancied me before!” The moment it burst out, Kaz felt its inadequacy. He hastened to amplify, “Nobody’s ever… been _interested_ in me. I mean, maybe I’ve gotten _signals_ from a girl or two, but… no one…” Out of nowhere, tears began to trickle down his cheeks. He wiped them away angrily. _What a stupid reason to start crying._ “No… _man_ has ever wanted me before. Out of the half-dozen crushes I’ve had since coming to Hogwarts, not a single one of them knows my feelings. I don’t dare tell them. You don’t know what that’s like…”

More tears rolled down Kaz’s cheeks. He felt like an idiot. How could he not have cried when describing everything Danvers had done to him up to now, but _this_ was the thing to make him break down? “I sneer at Leo and… other boys when they’re afraid to confess to the girls they fancy. What’s the worst that could happen to them? The get turned down? They get laughed at? But if I ever told Digory or George Weasley how I felt, I’d be lucky to walk away with all my parts attached. Even if they didn’t hex my bollocks off, they’d call me a… _a freak!_ I’d have to see the disgust… the _loathing_ in their eyes whenever they looked at me. I wouldn’t be able to walk down a corridor without being ridiculed.”

By now, Kazuma was holding his belly. He pressed his forehead to the top of the wooden desk while his sobs came close to hysteria. “I just… want to believe that it’s real… I want to think that he really likes me… that somebody actually _wants_ me, so that I won’t… won’t have to…”

There was a wooden clunk as Omar moved his chair over to Kaz’s side. Then a pair of firm hands drew his shoulders up from the desk, and Omar pulled him into an embrace. Kaz still wouldn’t meet his eyes, but he didn’t try to pull away.

“I’m sorry,” Kaz grunted, trying to reign in his feelings.

“I wish you’d stop saying that,” Omar groused.

“Sorry…” Kaz said again before he could stop himself. “Uh… I mean…”

But Omar only sighed tolerantly and gave his companion a gentle squeeze. “It’s hard, Kaz,” Omar whispered. “I know it is. But…” He rubbed the back of Kazuma’s head reassuringly. The quiet drew out for a long minute, then at last he let out a sigh. “In the first place… I don’t think you give Digory enough credit. You sit next to him in potions, don’t you? And you’ve always been courteous and respectful to him. I have a hard time imagining that he’d disregard all that and turn on you… over something so trivial.”

Tears were still falling, but they’d slowed. Kaz now rested attentively in Omar’s arms. “As for the twins,” Omar continued. “Well… I’ll be honest. They’d probably turn you down. They might laugh. They might even make a joke of it. But a pair of attention-seekers like _them?_ Can you imagine them getting angry to learn that even _boys_ are vulnerable to their charms?” That wrung a laugh out of Kazuma, and Omar rubbed his shoulder encouragingly. “I didn’t think so. They might turn you down, but I guarantee they’d be flattered.”

After a moment, Kaz couldn’t help but giggle. “Probably… I’d confess to George, and Fred would act huffy that I didn’t confess to him instead. He’d say something like, ‘And why not _me,_ eh Kent? I’m clearly the better-looking one.’” He did his best impression of the Weasleys’ slightly rustic accents, and Omar laughed appreciatively.

“That’d fit!” Gently, Omar pulled Kaz back up to a sitting position. “Kaz… You’re a great guy. You’re clever, sympathetic, and… not bad looking, if I do say so. People are bound to notice. And some of them are bound to be way better than _Vincent Danvers_.” He injected as much scorn as possible into the name. “So please… Don’t go acting like you owe him something just because he’s acknowledged that you’re cute and lovable. Anyone with eyes should be able to see that – it doesn’t make him special. Any credit he might get for his ability to see the obvious, he loses for the way he’s treated you. He wants you as a slave, not as a boyfriend. You don’t need that.”

At last, Kaz returned Omar’s embrace. “Thanks, mate… I know it’s cliché, but I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Omar shrugged noncommittally. “I like to think you’d see through is bull sooner or later. Now…” They disengaged, and Omar scooted his chair a little further back. “Regarding this… blackmail problem…” He began to rub his fingertips against his lips again. “The simplest solution, of course, would be to cut your losses and let him have the divining board.”

“No!” Kaz’s reply was instant and emphatic. His heart pounded with panic at the very suggestion.

Omar gave Kaz a calculating look, then sighed. “No, I didn’t think you’d care for the idea. In our fourth year I accidentally rested my coffee on it and you about bit my head off.”

Kaz screwed his eyes shut. “I have to get it back. It belongs to my teacher back in Japan.”

“I get that,” Omar said, holding up a hand mollifyingly. “But I still don’t understand _why_ it’s worth getting strung around like this. Japan is a mostly Buddhist country, isn’t it? Aren’t they all about not forming attachments to earthly things? Surely if you write to him and explain the situation, he’d understand.”

Kaz shook his head. “It’s not that simple. First off, Onmyoudo lifts a lot from Buddhism, but it’s its own separate thing. Secondly, the divining board… I call it Iwata-sensei’s, but it’s actually the property of the academy. It’s a tool loaned out to individual onmyouji during their lifetimes, but it has to be returned to the academy if they die or retire.”

Omar nodded. “Like how goblins treat their artefacts.”

Kazuma blinked. “Do they?”

Omar hesitated, then waved a hand. “Anyway…”

“Anyway… Academy tools are only supposed to be loaned to certified onmyouji. A master may entrust an artefact to a student for a designated time, but the master is still held responsible for its safekeeping. With me being a…” Kaz bit his lip for a moment. “Well… with me being a non-native to Japanese wizardry, a lot of the masters doubted that I was trustworthy, but Iwata-sensei’s seniority won out in the end. When it was learned that I would be taking the diving board overseas, it caused a real stink. My father says a vote was called to strip him of all academy privileges, and Iwata-sensei only kept his seat by less than a two-thirds margin.”

Omar’s eyes widened. “Do you know how big the council was? How many votes in total?”

Kaz had to think back a ways. In the academy’s entrance hall, there had been a scroll with the names of all living masters. Assuming that all the masters and at least a few of the senior staff had gotten a vote… “A little more than 30, I think.” Omar winced. “You see now. If I fail to return the divining board after completing my seventh year, the blame falls on Iwata-sensei. He’ll be charged with theft and destruction of academy treasures, and subsequently banished from the compound.”

By this point, Omar had taken of his glasses and was pinching the bridge of his nose. “And even if it’s Danvers’ doing, you still don’t want that on your conscience. Got it…” He released a steady breath. “Damn… I’ll bet the prat doesn’t even realize why the board is important.”

Kaz considered this for a second. “If he _did_ know, do you think he’d be more or less likely to give it back?”

There was a pause while Omar ran his fingers across his mouth. “If I could put any faith at all in his moral decency, I would say _more._ So far, though, I don’t care for the prospect. The blackmail, the handkerchief… and even making you go public with your relationship – outing you on _his_ terms. These actions show that he enjoys having power over you, and the shape of his Patronus puts the cherry on it. If he realizes just how badly you need the board back, I bet anything he’ll double down and push you even further.”

Kaz grimaced. He’d suspected as much and had been holding out hope that Omar would contradict him. “So… what do you think the chances are that he’ll give it back… at _some point?_ ”

“I’ve been giving that some thought, actually,” Omar said. He rested a nail between his teeth for a second, then let go without biting down on it. “It’s tough to say. Blackmail of this kind is tricky. He can only destroy the hostage-item once, at which point he loses all control over you. That means he can’t be threatening to break it every time you don’t feel like bringing him a jam tart.”

“Right,” Kaz agreed uncomfortably.

“That’s part of why I think he’s laying out the seduction so thick. He has to make you think that you _want_ to do what he says. Claiming you as his boyfriend was… unfortunately pretty clever on his part. You have classes with a lot of other Slytherins, and they can make your life pretty miserable if they think you’re not being good to your ‘devoted boyfriend.’”

“D’you…” Kaz almost bit his tongue back, but there was a little nagging thought in his head that he wanted to bounce off Omar while they had the chance. “I mean… D’you think it’s possible that Vin… that Danvers… uh… genuinely fancies me, and he… uh… just went to extremes to get my attention?”

The weight of Omar’s contemptful glare hit Kaz like a physical blow. He started to count off his fingers as he made his reply. “Number one, I highly doubt it. Number two, I don’t especially care. What he’s doing wouldn’t be any less evil even if it were true. And number three… Seriously, Kaz, stop trying to look for the good in him. Even if it’s there, it’s not your responsibility to bring it out.”

“Alright, alright,” Kazuma breathed with only the faintest tang of bitterness in his tone. “I’m sorry… Was just hoping to look at my situation from an angle that doesn’t seem entirely hopeless.”

The corner of Omar’s lip tugged upward in an involuntary smirk. “Oh come on, it’s not hopeless. You’ve got me on your side.”

“That… does actually make me feel better,” Kaz said.

Omar took his hand and squeezed it. “I don’t know how just yet… but we’ll figure a way out of this. For now, just… do what he says… Within reason. Pretend to be swept off your feet. Let him get good and complacent. If he lets his guard down far enough, there’s just a chance that he _might_ give you the board back. He’ll get more and more worried about holding onto it as the end of term approaches, I’m sure. And in the meantime, I’ll be working on a backup strategy.”

Energized, Kaz grinned and squeezed Omar’s hand back with purpose. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize it's a bit short, but... well, it's been a bit of an odd week. 
> 
> Truth be told, I'm a little worn out x.x I'm starting to think I may need a little break from the story. I do basically know where the story is going from here, but the ideas could use some time to germinate. 
> 
> In the meantime, I'm going to start going to the gym again and try to become the beautiful bara himbo I've always dreamed of being. 
> 
> Until then, I hope you all are keeping well. Thank you again for accompanying me on this little expedition. See you next time <3


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It appears that among his many kinks, Vincent Danvers might have a thing for degradation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still trying to spend more time working out, but I can't help writing now and again when I get the chance. Enjoy!

As it turned out, pretending to be “swept of his feet” wasn’t much of a challenge. Vincent had a real flair for romance. At times, it was east to even think of him as ‘sweet and sincere.’ They continued to meet in the disused Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom (Kazuma had privately christened it “the Room of Elements”) most nights, and Danvers was a genuine help in Charms practice.

Once, when Kaz was exhausted from a particularly late night working on a Potions essay, Vincent invited him to take a nap on the settee. Two hours later, the fire was roaring in the dim classroom, Vincent’s cloak was draped over his body, and Vincent himself was sitting at the teacher’s desk reviewing Kazuma’s essay. Kaz took nearly all of his new boyfriend’s suggestions, and Professor Snape gave the scroll an _Outstanding_ – the first he’d received in Potions that year.

“Aren’t you lucky to have a smart boyfriend like me helping you?” Vincent commented. It was hard to disagree. Moreover, though he was loath to say so out loud, Kaz felt lucky that Danvers was such a good kisser. His lips were always smooth and soft, his breath was unfailingly sweet, and his kisses were always patient – almost methodical. To his own embarrassment, Kaz had to be schooled in how to pace his kisses properly, and Vincent made sure to give him plenty of practice.

Kaz felt guilty to admit even to himself how much he looked forward to their snogging sessions. The simple fact, though, was that the feeling of Vincent’s tongue in his mouth made all his anxieties melt away. It was as if he had always been thirsty, and Vince’s kisses were pure, cool water on his tongue.

Unfortunately, when he wasn’t choosing to be romantic, the dynamic between them was still that of blackmailer and blackmailed. Kaz diligently masturbated once a night with the handkerchief pressed to his face, and it was impossible not to think of Vince while he did it. There were no more open threats, but Vincent Danvers made just enough veiled references to Kazuma’s divining board to keep the score clear between them. This meant that when Vince turned out to be an insatiable horndog, Kaz had no choice but to smile and gleefully play along with whatever perverted ideas took the Slytherin’s fancy.

The Monday following their Hogsmeade trip, the third since they’d become an ‘official couple,’ Danvers summoned Kaz to an empty room in the dungeons just after breakfast. Kaz had thankfully been walking alone to the Divination classroom when the handkerchief began squirming in his pocket, and he stealthily dove into a secret passage behind a nearby tapestry. There, he read the summons calling him to a dead-end side corridor in the dungeons. Kaz knew that, seeing as he’d already skived off his previous Divination lesson, he ought to ignore the summons and get to class. But after some quick calculation, Kaz decided that he _should_ be able to make it up to Trelawney’s in time for class as long as Vince didn’t dawdle.

On the way, Kaz found that people were staring at him in a way they hadn’t done since his first two years at Hogwarts. Here and there, he caught people whispering behind their hands as he walked by, but none of them were calling out questions or remarks to him. Not yet. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing, but there wasn’t time to dwell on it.

Down in the dungeons, Vincent was leaning against the wall at the end of the corridor, cool as ever. A small, green gift-bag full of black tissue paper hung loosely from his fingers. “Morning puppy,” he hummed playfully.

Breathing heavily, Kaz only bothered to put a thin veneer of interest over his frantic expression. “You called… Darling?”

Vincent met him with a grin and held up the bag. “Arrived this morning. Little present I got for you…” Abruptly, he tilted his head to the side and shrugged. “Well… Really it’s for me, but… it’s for you to _have_.”

Uncertainly, Kaz held out his hand to accept the present. “Well, uh… Thanks, I suppose…” Danvers didn’t reply, and Kaz saw that he was expected to open the present on the spot. He did so, crumpling up the tissue into one fist, and felt all the heat in his guts rush up to his face as he lifted the gift into view.

“P-… p-… _panties?_ ” Kaz hardly even pronounced the word. He was holding the silky fabric of the pink, lacey, girl’s underpants between two pinched fingers. They were obviously new. A blackened-out price tag still hung from the band. Despite this, Kaz couldn’t help but regard them as if they were something unclean.

Vincent grinned, eyes glittering with cruel amusement. “Should be in your size, too. I couldn’t help but thinking the other night just how cute you would look in these. I would _love it_ if you wore them today.”

Queasy disbelief swirled around in Kazuma’s belly. His gaze flicked back and forth between the frilly undergarments and his “boyfriend’s” turquoise eyes as though waiting for the punchline. For a moment, he wondered if this was just a dream – except that if it were, he’d probably already be _wearing_ the panties.

Seeing that he would have to make the next move, Kaz swallowed and asked with just the barest trace of complaint, “Today?”

Danvers obviously picked up on the tacit objection, but his grin only widened. “Yep! We don’t have any classes together today, so I’m _really_ going to be missing you. Knowing that you’re wearing the cute pants I bought you would help me feel a little less lonely, wouldn’t it?”

He sounded serious. Kaz couldn’t help but think so, even though there wasn’t a corner of his mind that believed this excuse. He looked at the thin garment, then glanced over his shoulder. They were still alone in the dead-end corridor, but the sound of students on their way to Potions class was a little too close for comfort. All it would take was one first-year taking a wrong turn, and he’d have some very awkward questions to answer.

“I…” Kaz swallowed nervously. His robe felt unbearably hot. “S-s-sweetie… I’m sorry, but this… isn’t really my thing.”

A frown creased Danvers’ brow, and he gave a theatrically pouty frown. “You won’t do it for me? Your doting boyfriend?” His tone was cloyingly innocent, but Kaz sensed a spark of danger in it. He gave Vincent an apologetic grimace.

“I mean… I suppose… I can wear them just today, if that’s what you want,” he conceded meekly.

The pout immediately melted from Vincent’s face. “Great!”

The shift of mood was so sudden that it made Kaz’s heart race. “Uh… r-right…” He started to stuff the pants into the pocket of his robe and turn away. “Well then, I had better-”

But Vincent caught his wrist and held him in place. “No, put them on now!”

Kaz’s face began to burn with fresh humiliation. “You what?”

“Put them on now!” Vince repeated. His voice was insistent, but he was smiling with flashing eyes. “I want to see them on you. I want to have the memory to sustain me through classes.” Kaz’s jaw worked, but no words came out.

“Come on, baby!” Vincent wheedled, pulling Kaz a little bit closer so that his cinnamony breath crept over him. “Won’t you do it? For me? It would be so hot! I’ll be grateful and treat you really well tonight.”

Kaz gave his arm a fruitless tug and hissed, “You’re crazy!” The instant the words left him, he knew he’d gone too far. If Danvers’ grip had been playful before, it was now firm and businesslike. All amusement dropped from the Slytherin’s face as if a mask had fallen off. Kaz stopped struggling immediately and cast his eyes downward. “I… Sorry.”

“Kazzy,” Vincent stated in a thin façade of a level tone, “as your devoted boyfriend, I would really like for you to do _this favor_ for me.”

To himself, Kaz translated, ‘I’m giving you an order, bitch.’ “Okay,” Kaz said contritely. “I’ll do it. I’m sorry.”

Vincent still didn’t let go. “This is the second time now that you’ve spurned a gift I tried to give you. You didn’t even thank me properly for the drink I bought you last Saturday. I don’t like this pattern I’m seeing with you, Kazzy.”

Kazuma _really_ wanted to argue with this last point, but he already knew he was going to be late for Divination and couldn’t afford to drag the argument out any longer. What’s more, the noise in the corridor was growing fainter, making it all the more likely someone would overhear their conversation through the echoing halls of the dungeon.

“I’m really sorry, Vince,” Kaz said in a gentle, obsequious voice. He kept his face angled downward and looked at Vincent from under his dark, scrunched-up eyebrows. “I promise I didn’t mean to seem ungrateful. I’ll wear the…” he stammered for a second, “… _the pants_ right now. Then you can enjoy them more tonight.”

Whether the act fooled him or not, Vincent took the bait. His glare gave way in an instant to his usual, happy-go-lucky smile. At last, he released Kazuma’s arm. “Thanks! I love you, baby.”

Kaz stopped dead in the act of reaching for his fly. “What…”

But Vincent spurred him on. “Quickly! Before someone comes and catches you.”

Kaz moved his lips without answering, then forced himself back into motion. Just as on that day in the library when Vincent had called him a faggot, the words ‘I love you’ rang in his ears until he felt dizzy. Only the taller boy’s insistent urging got him to continue pulling his trousers down, and then there was no way to go back on his word.

Kaz made sure to keep his back to the mouth of the corridor in case anyone came down, but soon he would have to take his shoes off if he wanted to get to Divination within the first 10 minutes of class. Somehow, even though he and Danvers had already stripped for one another before, this act felt more exposing somehow. It wasn’t just the risk of getting caught – it was the hungry way Danvers was looking at him. Taking off his clothes in front of those shimmering green eyes was like baring his flesh in front of a tiger, and Kaz suspected that Vincent was deliberately trying to give him that impression.

Once Kaz had both his trousers and his trainers off, Danvers shot a hand out to stop him once again. Kazuma only managed to keep his balance by resting his free hand on Vincent’s shoulder as the taller boy dragged his hand down to his own crotch. Kaz sealed his lips. Vincent’s massive prick was almost scalding hot even through his grey school trousers, and Kaz felt unaccountably indecent that it was his own exposed body that had gotten him so hard.

“Feel that, Kazzy? Feel how thrilled I am to see you in those lacy little panties?” Leering impishly, Danvers ground the other’s hand against his bulge so that he could feel every turgid inch of it. Against his will, Kazuma felt his loins stirring in response to the masculine lump against his fingers. Even when he got his hand back and could continue disrobing, it was hard to take his eyes off that suggestive mound.

Nonetheless, once his boxers were off, he hastened to fit his legs through the pink knickers and have done with the whole affair. Vincent held Kazuma’s boxers and trousers for him while he slipped the pants on. They felt more liquid than fabric as they slid up his calves and thighs, and they were clearly designed on the assumption that the wearer had no need of crotch support. The waist should have been the right width, but the added bulk of his semi-hard penis made the lace dig into his pelvis. The soft, thinness of the fabric against his skin made him acutely aware of how coarse his pubic hair felt by comparison. It seemed incredible – even unjust – to consider that roughly half of all his classmates had to put up with undergarments like these every day.

Kaz was half expecting his boyfriend to snicker or whistle mockingly once the panties were in place. Instead Vincent drew a sharp, sucking breath and fondled himself. “Damn, Kazzy! I knew I was gonna like these, but… Hey, wait a minute!” Vincent pulled Kaz’s trousers back as the boy reached for them. “Let me take a minute to just… admire how sexy you look… I wanna remember this image for the rest of the day.”

Kaz bit his lip and held back the urge to groan. He felt a building pressure in his cock, despite his best efforts to remain flaccid, and Vincent’s stare wasn’t helping. Kaz felt clearly as though he were being mocked, but his boyfriend’s bulge was throbbing with genuine arousal. That fact soothed his injured dignity, if only slightly.

After a few seconds, though, the near-complete silence in the dungeon reminded Kaz that classes were about to start. “Vince,” he whined as quietly as he dared. “I’m going to be late for Divination.”

“Okay…” Vincent finally gave the trousers back and continued to stare at Kaz’s crotch until it was again hidden by Hogwarts grey. Once there was no more hint of lace in sight, he rested a hand on the back of Kazuma’s head and pulled him into an impassioned kiss. If Vince’s throbbing cock had left any doubt as to the Slytherin’s appreciation for the undergarment, that kiss dispelled it. Vince completely ignored all the lessons he’d given to Kaz about pacing and buildup, and instead forced his tongue into the little Ravenclaw’s mouth with ruthless appetite. The kiss was too practiced to be called ‘brutish,’ and yet it was too rough to be called anything else. It was pure, savage, _want._

Danvers finally disengaged, breathing hard, and touched his forehead to Kazuma’s. “God damn, Kazzy baby. You look so sexy in those pretty knickers. I am gonna be thinking about you all damn day.” With a grin, he tapped Kaz on the nose. Kaz just smiled sheepishly in reply. Then Vince ruffled his hair then and stepped around him. “Alright, I have to get to class. See you tonight, cutie! Thanks for doing this for me!”

Moments later, Kaz was all alone in the dead-end corridor. His heart was still racing. He felt almost nauseous from the crowd of emotions. The knickers around his waist felt distractingly alien.

It wasn’t until he reached down to slip his trainers on that a cold realization settled in his stomach. Danvers hadn’t given him his boxers back. They were nowhere in sight. Vincent had taken them without even saying so. What was he going to do with them?

The realization made Kaz want to scream with frustration, but there was no time to do anything about it. The bell rang just as he was stuffing his foot into the second trainer, and Kaz had to sprint from the dungeons all the way to North Tower while cursing every minute he’d ever spent in Vincent Danvers company. The knickers kept giving him a wedgie as he ran, but he couldn’t afford to stop and adjust himself until he reached the trap door to Trelawney’s classroom.

“Ahh, Kazuma my dear!” Professor Trelawney’s quavering voice rang out almost as soon as he poked his head through the trap door. She was the only teacher who addressed him by first name, and one of the only witches in all of the United Kingdom who said it with the proper cadence. Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but cringe as her greeting called the entire classroom’s attention toward him.

“Good afternoon, Professor,” Kaz said meekly, climbing up through the trap door and addressing the carpet as he spoke. “Sorry I’m late.”

“That’s quite alright, dear,” Trelawney said dreamily. As she spoke, she began to dust off one of the poofs closer to her desk where she liked for him to sit. “I’m simply glad to see you returning in good health. Of course, I did sense last Friday that your spirit was in some distress. Yet even I did not credit the notion that you would be unable to join us.”

Kaz’s ears burned with embarrassment. In a sense, he had _earned_ Professor Trelawney’s esteem, but he wished that she didn’t favor him so openly. In a corner of the room, he saw a pair of girls whispering behind their hands. He couldn’t hear a word of their conversation, but it was safe to bet it was something like, ‘Imagine if it was _me_ playing truant twice in a row. Bet she wouldn’t have a chair all ready for my arrival.’

Kaz made sure to have his books out almost the moment he touched his seat. “I have last Friday’s assignment, if it’s not… too late,” he offered in an undertone. It was a fairly basic assignment as a warmup for the start of term: each student had to write their own horoscopes for a particular day.

Trelawney scooped her trailing shawls to one side and lowered herself onto the poof across from him. “Not at all, not at all,” she said in her carrying warble, oblivious to Kazuma’s attempted discretion. “The rest of the class have already been given the basics of today’s lesson. We’ll give them some time to practice their _rune casting_ while we review your horoscope.”

He winced at her use of “we” and did his best to ignore the dozen glares he could feel bouncing off his shoulders while Professor Trelawny scanned his rather extensive astrological chart. He’d done the whole thing at the peak of a caffeine high on Wednesday evening, and there were a few large stains on the parchment where he’d written a few equations based on Chinese astrology and tried to blot over them with annotations based on the Roman calendar.

“Hmm my, my, my,” Trelawney tutted demurely. “If your interpretation is correct, you should already have lost something valuable to you by this time today. Think carefully now, dear. Have you…” She broke off as Kazuma smacked himself in the face. “Why… dear child… Has this already come to pass?” The Professor sounded utterly delighted by the prospect.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! Why the hell didn’t I pay more attention to that?_ Kaz scratched agitatedly at his forelock, silently damning himself. Aloud he mumbled, “Yeah… forgot about that one.” In fact, the reason he’d had the divining board in his bag in the first place was because he’d intended to use it to cross-reference his horoscope before Friday.

Seeing that Trelawney was still staring at him expectantly, Kazuma added, “I… On Friday, I… lost a galleon that I’d gotten at the start of term.”

A few tables over, a pair of Ravenclaw girls let out low “ooh’s!” and tittered knowingly. Kaz felt his ears burning afresh and felt suddenly very aware of the silky fabric beneath his trousers. Meanwhile, Trelawney tutted sympathetically and continued to look over his predictions for the coming month.

“Hmm… Now, I don’t see your source for this prediction, but…” She pointed to last Saturday. “‘A chance for new and fruitful bonds.’ Has this also come to fruition?”

Kaz directed his self-reproach at a nearby incense burner so as not to meet her wide, interested eyes. Before he could answer, another of the girls began giggling too loud to be ignored and declared in a sing-song voice, “Kaz has got a _boyfriend!_ ” More giggles sprang up all around the room.

“Ooh, see now!” Professor Trelawney protested loudly, trying to bring the class back under control. “There’s no need for such childish…”

“But he _has_ , professor!” said another of the girls – the companion of the first Ravenclaw girl. “He’s going out Vincent Danvers, that really handsome Slytherin boy.”

“Ooh!” A Hufflepuff girl from another table became suddenly animated. “Is he the tall one with the seafoam eyes and the really beautiful hands?”

“His hands?” twittered the first Ravenclaw girl.

The Hufflepuff only blushed and took a sudden interest in her rune stones. Her Divination partner came to her rescue then. “Yes, I know what you mean, Val. My mother calls them ‘wand-maker’s fingers.’ He’s just so dreamy all around. Ooh, why are the good ones always gay?”

Trelawney finally turned her attention back to Kaz. “Is what they’re saying true, Kazuma dear?” Kaz didn’t say anything, but his scarlet face must have been answer enough. Against his will, his lips had tightened into a broad, nervous grin. Trelawney allowed herself a look of genuine surprise for just over a second, then smoothed her face into its usual ethereal affect. “Now, now dear, no need to be nervous. I am perfectly accepting. I know what a talented young seer you are, and your lifestyle choices don’t subtract from that one iota.”

Kaz sank down slightly in his chair, now desperately wishing that he’d ignored Vincent’s summons. If he had arrived early, he could have gotten partnered with another student instead of having Trelawney fawn over him for an entire period. “Th… thank you, Professor,” he mumbled. _I also wouldn’t have a wedgie right now if I’d just ignored him_.

Blithely, Professor Trelawney added, “In fact, history provides myriad examples of incredibly accomplished seers who shared your orientation. I once heard tell of a Native American wizard who theorized…”

Discreetly, Kaz snuck a glance at his watch. In another five minutes, the class would be halfway over. _Just kill me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little hasty, a bit sparsely edited... but it's something. Possibly my most filler-y chapter so far.   
> The next chapter will likely follow on from this one, and then we can get into the dense, starchy, plot of the story again. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	12. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife: chopping off what's incomplete and saying, "now it's complete because it's ended here."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the long, long delay (with many headlines intervening) it may not come as a surprise that I've decided to abandon this project. And while I don't owe an explanation to anybody but my own conscience, I've decided to give one anyway. 
> 
> By now, everyone knows what Rowling has done. I can't remember exactly when the controversy started in relation to the time I started on this story. At first, I didn't think much of it. I assumed that this was just another of her embarrassing gaffs and that she would come to her senses soon enough. After all, I remember when I first met a trans woman. Once it became apparent that all she wanted from me was: _call me by my preferred pronoun,_ things were very simple. It was an incredibly small thing to do to make someone feel comfortable and happy. I could only assume that Rowling, being older and wiser than me, would come to the same discovery before long. 
> 
> Even when it became apparent that this wasn't the case, I continued to write the story. In a way, I almost thought it fitting; Rowling does not stand to profit by the works I create. I counted myself among those who forswore giving her any monetary support, but still didn't want to lose the world she'd created. The story _I_ was creating was my own, and she couldn't touch it. I almost felt as though I was justly robbing her of her creation in a small way. "Just brush off the bad bits," I thought to myself. 
> 
> For a while, that kept me going. But... in the end, it was my stomach that won out. I couldn't continue working on this story without thinking of her. Even if I wasn't giving Rowling my money, I was still glorifying her legacy - or that's how I saw it, at least. I can't sit down to this story without feeling this disgust and the disappointment welling up in me. Even if I wanted to continue, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it anymore. 
> 
> So I'm calling it. The story is at an end. For those who were interested, I'm posting an outline of the rest of the story below. It's sad to see it go like this, but... at least it's closure of some kind. This work will be orphaned shortly hereafter.
> 
> Farewell.

At the Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor quidditch match, Omar was absent. When the dementors attacked, it caught Kaz by surprise and he wasn't able to shield himself. Previously when affected by dementors, Kaz would remember the fights his parents used to have before the divorce, and that was terrible. Now, he imagines Vincent exposing him, and everyone he loves turning on him, and it leaves him in a sobbing, huddled mess. Penelope gives him some chocolate and Leo helps him to walk back. 

Through a contrived side-track, Kaz breaks free from the rest and goes to the Gryffindor lockerroom where Wood is standing under the showers looking shell-shocked. Kaz and he have a heart-to-heart moment in which Kaz helps restore Wood's equilibrium, and they have sex. After this, Kaz and Wood meet up on occasion, discreetly. 

One way or another (probably from a Slytherin informant), vince finds out. He orders Kaz to break things off with Wood - to betray him in fact - and to do it just before the next match to put Wood off his game. 

Before it comes to that, Kaz receives a message from his old master. Among a few other words of advice, he also gives Kaz a spell that he knows through his Divination will come in handy. It's a spell to create a Realm. 

Kaz uses the realm, and an Onmyouji's wand (very powerful, but only good for about 5 spells) to confront Vince and disable his ability to break the board remotely. He gets it back, intact. 


End file.
